The Hindu Editorial (Digital tax tussles) – Jun 04, 2021

The United States announced and then immediately suspended a whopping 25% tariff rate on over $2 billion of imports from six countries including India,… For further reading, visit “The Hindu”. Below is today’s word list-2 for The Hindu Editorial (Digital tax tussles) – Jun 04, 2021.

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The Hindu Editorial (Digital tax tussles) – Jun 04, 2021:

digital services tax (DST) (noun) – a tax applied to digital business activities. (For example, France’s DST applies to digital intermediary services (like Amazon) and online advertising services (like Google & Facebook)).
tussle (noun) – fight, clash, quarrel, argument, contention.
trade war/tariff war (noun) – a condition in which a country increases tariffs on foreign goods and imposes quota restrictions to restrict other countries’ trade.
cannot afford/can ill afford (phrase) – if you cannot afford to do something, you must prevent it from happening because it would be embarrassing and cause problems (if it happens).
whopping (adjective) – huge, massive, very large, substantial.
signal (verb) – indicate, show, express.
intent (noun) – aim, purpose, intention, objective.
punitively (adverb) – harshly severely, stringently (with extremely high tax/charge).
long-held (adjective) – deep-rooted, well-established, traditional, fixed.
grouse (noun) – complaint, grumble, objection.
primarily (adverb) – largely, mainly, mostly.
Silicon Valley (noun) – Silicon Valley is the home of the largest technology corporations in the U.S. It is located in Northern California, within the southern region of San Francisco. Silicon chips were an integral component of the semiconductor industry. Silicon Valley was first given its name because of the many silicon chip creators and manufacturers there.
giant (noun) – a very large firm.
“Silicon Six” tech giants (noun) – “Silicon Six” tech giants are Amazon, Facebook, Google’s owner, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple, and Microsoft.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) (noun) – an agency, of the United States federal government, that negotiates directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements, to resolve disputes, and to participate in global trade policy organizations. USTR was created in 1962 and has offices in Washington, Geneva, and Brussels. Katherine Chi Tai is an American attorney serving as the 19th United States Trade Representative since March 18, 2021.
Section 301 of Trade Act of 1974 (noun) – Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 grants the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) a range of responsibilities and authorities to investigate and take action to enforce U.S. rights under trade agreements and respond to certain foreign trade practices.
discriminatory (adjective) – biased, unfair/unjust, inequitable, one-sided, partisan.
hang over (phrasal verb) – be imminent, threaten, approach, be close, be impending.
limp (verb) – progress, advance, proceed (with difficulty).
feeble (adjective) – poor, weak, ineffective.
project (verb) – plan, propose, devise.
softening (noun) – decrease, reduction, lessening, moderation.
blow (noun) – shock, surprise; setback/misfortune.
ongoing (adjective) – current, existing, continuing.
negotiations (noun) – discussion, talks, deliberation.
make progress (phrase) – move forward, make strides; proceed, advance, improve.
impose (verb) – force, thrust, inflict (an unwelcome decision/ruling).
warrant (verb) – justify, vindicate, sanction, validate.
backstory (noun) – history.
lapse (verb) – expire, become void/invalid terminate, become obsolete.
retaliate (verb) – hit back, counterattack, take revenge.
subscribe to (verb) – agree with, be in agreement with, support/endorse.
notion (noun) – idea, belief, opinion, view.
Titan (proper noun) – (figuratively) an extremely important, powerful & strong person/thing/firm. (In Greek mythology, the Titans were the pre-Olympian gods).
distance oneself from (phrasal verb) – denounce, disown, reject, condemn, disagree with.
allegation (noun) – charge, accusation, indictment.
fallout (noun) – adverse results/consequence; after-effects, repercussions.
stick (noun) – punishment.
a level playing field (phrase) – a situation in which everyone has a fair and equal opportunity to succeed, and no one has an advantage over the other.
slap (verb) – impose or levy a tax/fine.
liabilities (noun) – financial obligation, debt.
tax liabilities (noun) – the amount of money in the form of tax debt you owe to tax authorities.
mere (adjective) – just, only, nothing more than.
non-resident (adjective) – foreign, overseas, offshore, external, out-of-state.
even more (phrase) – all the more, further.
heft (noun) – influence, ability; weight/strength.
throw one’s weight behind (phrase) – to use one’s power (influence) to support someone/something.
venture (noun) – undertaking, operation, activity, scheme, act/deed.
to the point of (phrase) – to a specific level.
outbreak (noun) – outburst, flaring up, breakout, sudden appearance/occurrence of something.
compound (verb) – aggravate, worsen, intensify, make worse.
skirmish (noun) – fight, conflict, clash, confrontation.
count (noun) – point.
potentially (adverb) – likely, possibly, probably.
fall under (phrasal verb) – be affected/impacted by something.
fragile (adjective) – delicate, shaky, weak, vulnerable, insecure.
hardly (adverb) – barely, almost not.
wage (verb) – engage in, carry on, conduct, pursue, undertake (a (tariff) war).
decade (noun) – a period of ten years.