WASHINGTON, D.C.: A long-running global effort to curb corporate tax avoidance has taken a new turn, with the world's biggest economies agreeing to shield U.S. multinationals from paying higher taxes overseas under a revised international deal.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on January 5 that nearly 150 countries had signed off on an amended version of its global tax agreement, first crafted in 2021 to prevent large companies from shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions regardless of where they operate.

Under the revised framework, large U.S.-based multinational corporations are excluded from the 15 percent global minimum corporate tax, following negotiations between the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and other members of the Group of Seven wealthy nations.

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann described the outcome as a "landmark decision in international tax co-operation" that "enhances tax certainty, reduces complexity, and protects tax bases," according to a statement.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed the agreement as "a historic victory in preserving U.S. sovereignty and protecting American workers and businesses from extraterritorial overreach."

The latest deal significantly softens the original 2021 agreement, which established a minimum global corporate tax rate of 15 percent. That plan was designed to stop multinational companies — including Apple and Nike — from using accounting structures and legal strategies to shift profits to low- or no-tax jurisdictions.

Such jurisdictions often include places like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, where companies typically conduct little or no actual business but benefit from minimal tax rates.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was a central architect of the 2021 OECD deal and made the global minimum tax one of her top policy priorities. At the time, congressional Republicans strongly opposed the plan, arguing it would weaken U.S. competitiveness in the global economy.

The Trump administration revisited the agreement in June after congressional Republicans rolled back a so-called "revenge tax" provision in Trump's sweeping tax and spending legislation. That provision would have allowed the U.S. government to impose taxes on companies with foreign owners and on investors from countries deemed to levy "unfair foreign taxes" on U.S. firms.

While Republicans applauded the revised deal, tax transparency advocates criticised the changes, arguing they undermine years of progress.

"This deal risks nearly a decade of global progress on corporate taxation only to allow the largest, most profitable American companies to keep parking profits in tax havens," said Zorka Milin, policy director at the FACT Coalition, a tax transparency nonprofit.

Tax watchdog groups say the global minimum tax was intended to halt an international "race to the bottom," in which countries compete to attract multinational profits by offering ever-lower corporate tax rates.

Republican lawmakers, however, welcomed the outcome. Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo of Idaho and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith of Missouri said in a joint statement: "Today marks another significant milestone in putting America First and unwinding the Biden Administration's unilateral global tax surrender."