Rep. Estes Commends Administration on DST Investigation

Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) released the following statement after President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on Friday directing the US Trade Representative to investigate Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) under section 301. "There should be bipartisan support for pushing back against discriminatory taxes from foreign governments that target U.S. innovators," said Rep. Estes. "We've seen foreign treasuries attempt to pad their coffers by going after U.S. dollars, which needs to end now. President Trump is right to reopen investigations that began in his first administration and open new investigations for countries that are using DSTs to drain our economy. Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration will stand up for American workers and innovators and demand that countries end this discriminatory tax practice." Background Rep. Estes has been a fierce opponent of DSTs. In 2024, he condemned Canada's decision to move forward with a new tax on digital services that would be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2022. In March 2023, Rep. Estes and then-Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Michigan) introduced a resolution condemning foreign Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) after Rep. Estes questioned Ambassador Tai about DSTs during the Ways and Means hearing. Previously, Rep. Estes published an op-ed about France's DSTs in 2019 and responded to French Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire's Wall Street Journal op-ed with a letter to the editor in 2020.