Some of the most important trade partners of the U.S. are raising concerns about the proposed U.S. plan to overhaul its tax code. The finance ministers of Europe’s five largest economies voiced concerns about the tax plan in a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday, December 11, 2017.

The letter was signed by Germany’s Peter Altmaier, France’s Bruno Le Maire, the U.K.’s Philip Hammond, Italy’s Pier Carlo Padoan and Spain’s Cristobal Montoro Romero.

The E.U. leaders are generally concerned that U.S. businesses will gain a competitive edge on international markets once the tax proposal is enacted. In the letter, the leaders voiced concern that the U.S. tax overhaul contains protectionist measures that could violate double-taxation treaties and breach the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

The letter mentions certain provisions in both the proposed House and Senate bills. Two provisions in particular have prompted pushback from the E.U. leaders.

First, the 20% excise tax provisions on payments to foreign affiliated companies that is included in the proposed House bill would impact payments that are made for foreign goods or services. The finance ministers said that this could discriminate in ways that are at odds with the WTO rules and impose a tax on profits of non-U.S. companies that do not have a U.S. permanent establishment.

The finance ministers also criticized the anti-abuse tax provisions of the proposed Senate bill. The letter states that the anti-abuse tax provisions would impact genuine commercial arrangements of payments to foreign companies taxed at an equivalent or higher rate than in the U.S. The letter further explains that this could be harmful for international banks and insurers because it would make cross-border, intragroup financial transactions subject to a 10% tax that would be non-deductible. The E.U. leaders are concerned that this would distort international financial markets.

In response to the letter, a Treasury spokesperson said that they “appreciate the views of the finance minsters” and are “working closely with Congress as they finalize the legislation.”

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