President Donald Trump announced that the United States would launch an investigation into the European Union and threatened a new tariff over fines imposed on major American technology companies.
This move follows closely on the heels of the European Commission fining Google €890 million ($1 billion) for engaging in practices that stifled competition in its search services.
Posting on Truth Social—a platform he owns—the US president stated that the EU must pay a “very big price” for how it has treated Google, as well as other major US tech companies like Apple, Meta, and Amazon, which have also faced scrutiny.
“The United States of America is not a PIGGYBANK for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” he wrote.
Trump demanded that any existing fines be “entirely reversed” and announced he is initiating a trade investigation of the EU while considering “a substantial TARIFF.”
He further stated that the US would “immediately initiate a 301 investigation” over what he described as European regulators’ practice of “robbing American companies and, in turn, the American taxpayer.”
Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, The Office of the United States Trade Representative holds the authority to investigate trade practices deemed unfair. The second Trump Administration has launched several such investigations since last year.
The tariff threat comes just one day after Trump announced new tariffs on 60 trading partners, including the EU, UK, and China, ranging from 10% to 12.5%.
A spokesperson for Google, José Castañeda, told the BBC that the company had “worked hard to comply” with Europe’s Digital Markets Act but had “expressed our concerns about the impact of recent EC decisions.”
“We appreciate the engagement by the administration and US government,” Castañeda added.
Beyond the recent penalty against Google, Trump claimed in his post that Apple had received EU fines totaling $15 billion, Meta faced $3 billion in fines, and Amazon received $2.5 billion in fines.
Representatives for Meta, Apple, and Amazon, as well as the European Commission, have been contacted for comment.
Prior to being elected president in 2024, Trump said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, had called him directly to complain about fines the company had received from European regulators.
The call occurred shortly after Apple lost a long-running dispute over unpaid taxes.
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