讀後心得

Recently, U.S. President Trump announced high tariffs on imported goods from 185 countries, reigniting the trade war. Although the U.S. has a trade deficit in goods, it holds an advantage in services trade, with annual revenues nearing $300 billion. The European Union has formulated countermeasures aimed directly at the U.S. service industry, potentially using methods such as raising import thresholds for services and rewriting intellectual property rights rules. This will have a significant impact on U.S. service exports, affecting Silicon Valley tech companies and Wall Street financial institutions.

The United States' advantages in service trade may become targets of retaliation by other countries.

Recently, the President of the United States announced high tariffs on imports from 185 countries, reigniting the flames of the trade war. Although the United States has long been in a trade deficit concerning goods, it shows a clear advantage in service trade, with annual earnings approaching $300 billion (approximately NT$9.9 trillion). In response to this situation, European Union officials stated that countermeasures have been drawn up, planning to target the U.S. service sector as the main retaliatory focus.

According to reports, the United States is the largest service exporter globally, covering high-value-added fields such as finance, tourism, engineering, healthcare, and cloud technology. Many services are exported digitally, such as foreign tourists spending in the U.S., international audiences subscribing to streaming platforms, and businesses purchasing American cloud services. These digital services continue to bring astonishing surpluses to the U.S. The report indicates that the U.S. service trade surplus in 2024 is expected to reach $300 billion; economists analyze that the trade surplus from digital content and services alone could be as high as $600 billion (approximately NT$19.9 trillion), almost equivalent to the total annual exports of France.

The Europe director of the Eurasia Group pointed out that Europe has real leverage in the service sector and emphasized that the U.S. high tariff policy has caused a chain reaction, with several European countries planning to shift the focus of their countermeasures to service trade. The European Union is also prepared to activate the "Anti-Coercion Tool," which grants EU member states extensive retaliatory measures, including raising the thresholds for service imports, limiting market access, and rewriting intellectual property rules, directly countering the U.S. tariff policy.

EU officials pointed out that in recent years, the EU has strengthened its regulation of tech giants, forcing companies like Google, Apple, and Meta to adjust their operating policies in the European market. Once the EU takes real action, it will be equivalent to impacting the most profitable sectors in the U.S., which will not only severely hurt service exports but may also directly affect Silicon Valley tech companies and Wall Street financial institutions, bringing immense economic pressure on the United States.