Ignoring the Warning Signs: Why Did the Canadian Government Dismiss the Trade Risks of a Digital Services Tax? - Michael Geist
www.michaelgeist.ca
U.S. President Donald Trump announced yesterday that he was suspending trade negotiations with Canada due to the imminent implementation of the digital services tax (DST). The result could be increased tariffs on Canadian products and a stalemate on many of the current trade battles between the two countries. This result should not come as a surprise. Indeed, the prospect of a trade war over the DST has been readily apparent for years. In my Law Bytes podcast episode in May on Canadian digital policy under Prime Minister Mark Carney, it was the top short term issue (I did not anticipate burying lawful access in a border bill). Just prior to Trump’s inauguration in January, I wrote:
  • ubergeekEnglish
    1·
    6 days ago

    They didn’t ignore it, they counted on yet another unhinged reaction from Trump, and now have another piece of leverage: now Canada is going to multi-source their software.