The French president promised his US counterpart that he will scrap the tax once the OECD has come up with its own rules – and France will even give money back to companies who have ‘overpaid’ under the current system.

Some digital players pay very little tax. This is an injustice that destroys jobs. @realDonaldTrump and I have just agreed to work together on an agreement at the @OECD level to modernize international tax rules. #G7Biarritz

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 26, 2019

This new framework from the OECD could be released as early as 2020, and has come about amid growing international acceptance that massive digital companies pay too little tax in countries they operate in.

The French government has said that its own 3% tax, which applies to services sold in France like digital advertising, was introduced for this very reason – in its own words, to “re-establish fiscal justice”.

But when the tax, which mostly affects American businesses like Facebook and Amazon, was approved in July, Trump responded angrily.

He threatened to retaliate by introducing import tariffs on French wine, sparking fears of a US-EU trade war.

The US Chamber of Commerce wrote to the Trade Representative’s Office, which advises the president, attempting to reduce the risk of a trade war, but strongly condemned the tax as discriminatory against American companies.