U.S. President, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose a 100 per cent tariff on imports from any country that introduces a digital services tax (DST) targeting American technology companies.

In a statement posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump warned that countries introducing or maintaining digital services taxes on U.S. tech firms would face immediate retaliatory tariffs on all goods exported to the United States.

“Any country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump declared, insisting that digital services taxes unfairly single out American businesses and undermine U.S. economic interests.

The latest warning is aimed primarily at several European countries that have adopted or are considering digital services taxes on multinational technology companies such as Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft.

Washington has long argued that such taxes disproportionately target U.S.-based firms while discriminating against American innovation.

Trump also asserted that the proposed 100 per cent tariff would supersede existing and future trade agreements, signalling a more confrontational trade policy if countries proceed with taxing revenues generated by U.S. technology giants within their borders.

France became the first major economy to introduce a digital services tax in 2019, prompting repeated threats of retaliatory tariffs from Washington.

Other countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Canada, have either implemented or proposed similar measures while negotiations continue under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to establish a global framework for taxing multinational corporations.

The OECD’s two-pillar international tax agreement was designed to reduce unilateral digital taxes by allocating a greater share of multinational profits to countries where earnings are earned while establishing a global minimum corporate tax

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

The Federal government has disclosed that necessary measures, including international collaboration, are being deployed to ensure the safe release of the 47 kidnapped teachers and students of both public and private schools in Yawota and Ahoro Esienle communities in Oriire local government areas of Oyo State.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, disclosed this on Thursday during the unveiling of the remodeled 154-bed Premier Hotel in Ibadan.

He reassured residents of Oyo State and the South-West region that the government is intensifying efforts to tackle insecurity across the country, including the recent rise in banditry, kidnapping, and related crimes.

“I must at this point reassure the good people of Oyo State and indeed the South-West that the Federal government is seriously addressing the upswing in banditry, kidnapping and associated criminalities across the nation.“

“I wish to assure you that every realistic measure, including international collaboration, is being taken to ensure that the kidnapped victims in Oriire Local Government Area are safely brought home without harm or avoidable loss of life,” he said.

He called on citizens to remain vigilant and support security agencies through intelligence sharing and community collaboration.

“I urge all citizens to remain vigilant and to work collaboratively with security agencies. There is undoubtedly a huge role for traditional and faith-based institutions to play in this regard and I urge them to take the lead through the various channels provided by government,” he added.

“The economy can only thrive in an atmosphere of peace and security,” noting that the Tinubu administration has made substantial investments in strengthening the nation’s security architecture.

“Economic development can only flourish in an atmosphere of peace, stability and security. That is why our administration has continued to invest significantly in strengthening the nation’s security architecture,” he said.

He stated that over the past three years, the government had enhanced inter-agency coordination, improved intelligence gathering, expanded technological surveillance capabilities, strengthened community-based security initiatives, and increased support for the armed forces and security agencies.

“There is an ongoing process in the National Assembly targeted at enhancing policing at all levels. We hope to roll this out in no distant future,” he said.

He noted that his administration’s efforts are yielding measurable results across several parts of the country and would continue until every Nigerian could live and conduct business safely.

“These efforts are yielding measurable results across many parts of the country. We remain committed to ensuring that every Nigerian, every investor, and every visitor can live, work, travel and do business in safety and confidence,” he stated.

He said visitors and investors should be assured that Nigeria was becoming increasingly secure and attractive for investment.