U.S. trade envoy presses Canada on digital services tax, home shopping obligations

The Canadian Press
Fri, July 7, 2023 


WASHINGTON — America's trade envoy is urging her Canadian counterpart to abandon plans for a digital services tax and to allow U.S. home shopping north of the border.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and International Trade Minister Mary Ng met one-on-one in Mexico during two days of meetings in Cancun, which wrap up today.

The annual gathering is a chance for all three countries to take stock of their progress under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

A U.S. readout of Thursday's meeting says Tai pressed Ng on Canada's obligation under the deal to allow American home shopping television channels like QVC.

She also repeated long-standing U.S. concerns about the digital tax, which targets foreign companies that earn revenue from the engagement, content or data of Canadian users.

The three per cent levy would go into effect in January unless an ongoing international effort to establish a multilateral tax regime takes hold before then.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.

The Canadian Press