Domainnamewire: As global trade tensions intensify, digital goods and services—especially domain names and web hosting—may become the next targets for retaliation against U.S. economic policies.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced a new round of sweeping tariffs, primarily targeting imported physical goods. In response, various countries have slapped retaliatory tariffs on American exports like bourbon and Harley-Davidson motorcycles in an effort to pressure the U.S. into reversing course.
However, while the U.S. runs a chronic trade deficit in physical goods, it maintains a consistent trade surplus in services such as finance, consulting, software, and cloud computing. This surplus makes digital services an attractive target for the next phase of global trade retaliation.
Legal Barriers Might Not Be Enough
Most countries are bound by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which restricts discriminatory treatment against foreign service providers. But if Trump’s tariffs are deemed to violate other World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, affected countries might reconsider their commitments under GATS, opening the door for creative forms of retaliation that don’t directly breach international rules.
China’s Licensing Power as Leverage
China, for instance, has a well-established regulatory framework for domain names. Domain registries must obtain approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) before selling domains in China—an approval process that can take years.
If tensions rise, MIIT could revoke existing licenses, delay approvals, or introduce stricter requirements, giving China considerable leverage over U.S.-based domain registries and registrars.
EU Tools: Regulation and Digital Taxation
Meanwhile, the European Union has shown a tough stance on U.S. tech giants:
- Fining companies like Meta and Google for antitrust and privacy violations
- Implementing GDPR and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to limit tech monopolies
- Imposing Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) on firms like Google, Amazon, and Meta
Although current DST rates are modest (typically 2–3% of revenue), they could be increased as a retaliatory measure in a deeper trade conflict.
Risks for the Domain and Hosting Industry
While domains and hosting represent a small portion of total U.S. service exports, they remain a vulnerable segment of digital infrastructure. More prominent targets might include cloud computing and SaaS platforms, but domain registries and hosting providers should still closely monitor developments.
As the scope of the trade war expands beyond traditional industries, digital services may become the next major front. Companies in the domain and hosting sector should prepare for potential market access restrictions, tighter regulations, and new taxation schemes. The trade war is evolving—and it’s going digital.
Read more
News Source:domainnamewire，This article does not represent our position.
