Canada’s threat to press ahead with a special tax on American tech giants could blow a big hole in President Joe Biden’s bid to remake the international tax system.
It amounts to a vote of no confidence in the long-running effort, one the administration is worried could prompt other countries to follow suit — unraveling years of difficult negotiations.
Officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, are now furiously lobbying their Canadian counterparts to back off, so far without much progress.
That’s led to the spectacle of policymakers teeing off on one of the U.S.’s closest allies.
“The Canadian government has repeatedly been warned,” said Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).