. @BrunoLeMaire at #WebSummit presser: It should be easier to convince the @JoeBiden administration to agree to move in the right direction on digital taxation. That would be "a major step for the world economy," he says.

There's a window of opportunity for agreement on global tax reform by mid-2021. "This is just a matter of political courage," @BrunoLeMaire says.

While Le Maire seemed optimistic it would be easier to work with the new administration, Biden told @nytimes that he would focus on "America First," which throws some doubt on the idea that the US would change its position in the negotiations. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/opinion/biden-interview-mcconnell-china-iran.html

It's also important to remember that under Obama-Biden, the US had a pretty hardline stance against taxation of US digital companies. But then again, a lot has changed since the Obama years, as more countries have or are thinking about unilateral digital taxes.

The US could go back to its hardline position, but that wouldn't do much to improve international relations, which have taken hard hits in the past few years. Perhaps giving up some taxing rights, even just a slice, to other countries would help repair those relationships?

What we do know is that Treasury Secretary nominee and economist Janet Yellen is not keen on tariffs, so I would think it's reasonable to expect that the new administration will not use tariff threats so liberally to get what it wants.