U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to use tariffs to counter countries that unfairly impose restrictions, like digital taxes, against American tech giants, such as Google, Amazon and Meta.

Trump signed a memorandum on Friday, ordering a government investigation into "one-sided, anti-competitive policies and practices of foreign governments" and for officials to put forth response measures.

Trump said his administration intends to introduce tariffs and take other necessary steps to set right any regulations or policies that "inhibit the growth" or "jeopardize intellectual property" of American corporations operating abroad.

He also ordered procedures allowing American companies to report taxes or regulations foreign governments impose against them.

Although South Korea was not specified in the latest memo, Seoul could be subject to the investigation, as the memo took issue with foreign governments restricting inter-border data transfer, having a U.S. streaming service cover production costs, and charging fees for data network use.

Trump, meanwhile, ordered the U.S. trade representative to consider reopening probes from his first term into the digital services taxes imposed by countries in the European Union, as well as the U.K. and Turkey.