The Office of the United States Trade Representative stated on December 22 that the U.S. will use every tool at its disposal to counter discriminatory lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives by the European Union and EU member states against U.S. service providers if these practices continue, according to an X post by @USTradeRep published over the past hour ending at 1:16 p.m. UTC. The statement, posted at https://x.com/USTradeRep/status/2000990028835508258, notes that U.S. services companies provide substantial free services to EU citizens, reliable enterprise services to EU companies, and support millions of jobs along with more than $100 billion in direct investment in Europe. The U.S. has raised these concerns with the EU for years without meaningful engagement or acknowledgment. EU service providers have operated freely in the United States for decades with access to its market, including Accenture, Amadeus, Capgemini, DHL, Mistral, Publicis, SAP, Siemens, and Spotify, the @USTradeRep post states. U.S. law permits responsive measures such as fees or restrictions on foreign services, and the U.S. will apply a similar approach to other countries adopting EU-style strategies. Separately, Germany unveiled plans to spend €377 billion to boost the size and capabilities of its army, with defense spending reaching 3.5% of GDP by 2029 to become the world's third biggest spender after the U.S. and China at an estimated €190 billion annually, according to an X post by @nicholadrummond at https://x.com/nicholadrummond/status/1983287548920377842 published during the reporting window.
