France’s tax stems from concerns that it is not capturing any revenue from activities of companies that sell or advertise online to its citizens yet. That concern is shared by a growing number of countries outside America, including Britain, Italy and Canada.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is spearheading negotiations between the countries as it tries to avoid an arms race of sorts among countries seeking to capture revenue from digital commerce that crosses borders. Participants have set an ambitious goal to reach an agreement in principle sometime next year, and key negotiators will meet next month in Paris to continue the process.

A final global agreement would most likely overhaul how countries tax commerce that crosses borders, and it could grow to cover large automakers and other multinational companies — not just tech firms.

Some tax experts who have been tracking the deliberations predict that the Trump administration will extend the truce period, perhaps unofficially, until at least January when the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is expected to give an update on the status of the negotiations. Others say the administration is likely to hold off as long as negotiations remain fruitful.

“Absent some sort of intervention from the president, it seems very unlikely for the United States to act on the 301 investigation prior to seeing whether there is a satisfactory agreement at the O.E.C.D. in January 2020, and if such an agreement is reached, whether the French keep their promise and repeal their digital services tax,” said Itai Grinberg, an international tax policy professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Trump is using authority granted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 for potential retaliatory tariffs.