US FDI revenge tax co-author: “Still a possibility”
From fDi Beyond Borders
Beyond Borders
The latest news and analysis on cross-border investment
July 3, 2025
Welcome everyone to a new episode of Beyond Borders.
Donald Trump’s threats are starting to pay off in the form of concessions from targeted partners. The deal the US administration struck at the latest G7 meeting in Canada is one for the ages. Facing the dire prospects of ballooning ‘revenge taxes’, G7 partners gave in to the White House’s request to exempt US companies from the global minimum tax.
It’s certainly a win for Trump, although one of the revenge tax masterminds, congressman Ron Estes, tells Danielle in an exclusive interview that the G7 pact has to be honoured quickly lest Section 899 be back on the table.
It’s hardly a win for the OECD-led reform, which was meant to be an inclusive framework with over 140 participating countries and now finds itself blindsided and overruled by a G7 agreement. In the immediate aftermath of the agreement, I spoke to a member of the OECD framework representing developing countries. She hadn’t even been informed of the deal. There has always been a lingering feeling among developing countries that the global minimum tax is tilted in favour of developed economies. While arguable, the latest developments at G7 level will further erode the reform’s consensus. Foreign businesses have mixed feelings too, as they worry about fiscal discrimination moving forward.
Elsewhere, Northvolt’s first gigafactory, which had fuelled hopes of a European battery catch-up, stopped production on June 30, leaving the town of Skellefteå in northern Sweden and its 77,000 inhabitants soul-searching as its main employer goes bust, as Andrii Degeler finds out. And Alex looks at the prospects of the fast-growing tech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the fledgling entrepreneurial scene in Ethiopia.
Last but not least, there are still a couple of days to go for special economic zones to enter our Global Free Zones of the Year awards. Find all the details here to participate.
That’s it for this week. We love to hear from our readers, get in touch at [email protected].
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox weekly.
