US President Donald Trump has warned the European Union (EU) that it will "pay a very big price" for fining American tech companies.
"The European Union is at it again and, as usual, taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies!," Trump said in a post on Friday on Truth Social. "The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about."
Trump made his post after the European Commission imposed a $1 billion fine on Alphabet Inc.’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on Thursday. It ruled that Google had breached the bloc’s Digital Markets Act by favoring its own services in search results and restricting app developers from directing users elsewhere.
The penalty added renewed strain to US-EU relations at a moment when trade tensions between Washington and Brussels had appeared to ease. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned a day before Trump’s threat that the EU’s action against Google could imperil the bloc’s relationship with the White House.
"The EU often claims that it is looking for stability and predictability in our trading relationship, but these actions are driving massive uncertainty for US exports of goods and services to Europe," Greer said. The EU’s recent actions "pose a real risk to the continuation of transatlantic stability with respect to trade,” he said
Regulators Allege Preferential Treatment
Regulators said that Google gave preferential placement to its own shopping, travel and other services over rival offerings. It alleged that it blocked app developers from steering customers toward deals outside its Play Store.
Google is required to comply with the Commission’s decisions within 60 days. It risks periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its total worldwide turnover.
"Google has fallen short of effective compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and today we have taken decisive yet balanced enforcement action sanctioning these breaches," Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said. "The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine."
Kent Walker, a Google executive, described the ruling as "product degradation" driven by a small number of complainants. He insisted that regulations should improve products rather than weaken them.
Trump Criticizes Fines
In his Truth Social post, Trump pointed to a series of European Union penalties against major US technology firms. He cited Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) facing $15 billion in fines, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) at $3 billion, and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) at $2.5 billion.
Trump also referenced cumulative actions against Google, saying the company’s total EU fines were now "over $18 billion." These figures were not independently verified.
"The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!," Trump said. "Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of "ROBBING" American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.
The Office of the US Trade Representative is the agency responsible for launching the Section 301 trade investigation. At risk is the Turnberry deal capping US tariffs on EU exports at 15%.
Trump blamed the "Sleepy Joe Biden Administration." He described the EU fines as an "illegal and highly discriminatory practice.”
