US Trade Envoy Urges Canada to Remove Digital Services Tax and Allow Home Shopping in US

WASHINGTON – U.S. Trade Representative Catherine Tai has urged the Canadian Trade Representative to reconsider its plans for a digital services tax and allow cross-border home shopping within the United States. Mr. Tai and Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Mary Ng, met one-on-one in Mexico during two days of talks in Cancun that ended today.

The annual meeting provides an opportunity for all three countries to assess progress under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. According to a US statement at Thursday’s meeting, Mr. Tai emphasized Canada’s commitment under the agreement to allow US home shopping TV channels like QVC.

Tai also reiterated long-standing US concerns over a digital tax that specifically targets foreign companies that generate revenue from Canadian user engagement, content and data.

The 3% tax is due to come into effect in January, unless ongoing international efforts to establish a multilateral tax system are successful by then.