Trump threatens EU tariffs over tech company fines

President Donald Trump said the United States will immediately investigate the European Union’s trade practices and threatened new tariffs after European regulators imposed fines on major American technology companies, including a €890 million penalty against Google.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused the EU of targeting U.S. companies and American taxpayers. “The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” he wrote.

Trump said his administration would launch a Section 301 investigation into what he called the European regulators’ practice of “ROBBING” American companies and, “in turn, the American Taxpayer.” He said the EU would “pay a very big price” for conduct he described as “illegal and highly unethical,” and said the fines “will be entirely reversed.” He also said he was considering “a substantial TARIFF” on the EU “at the earliest possible moment.”

The threat follows the European Commission’s decision to fine Google €890 million, or about $1 billion, after finding that the company breached competition rules through its Google Play app store and search services. The BBC reported that the commission said Google operated in a way that squeezed out competitors to its services.

Google spokesman 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.” He added: “We appreciate the engagement by the administration and US government.”

Trump also cited penalties against other U.S. technology companies, saying Apple had faced EU fines of $15 billion, Meta fines of $3 billion and Amazon fines of $2.5 billion. The BBC reported that representatives for Meta, Apple and Amazon, as well as the European Commission, had been contacted for comment.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative authority to investigate and respond to trade practices considered unfair. CBS News reported that such investigations examine whether foreign acts are “unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce,” and that the legal authority can allow tariffs and other penalties if investigators find evidence of unfair trade practices.

The Trump administration has invoked Section 301 in investigations involving Brazil, India, Japan and other countries, CBS News reported. The BBC said the second Trump administration has launched several such investigations since last year.

The tariff warning came one day after Trump announced new duties on 60 U.S. trading partners, including the EU, the United Kingdom and China. The rates range from 10% to 12.5%. CBS News reported that the tariffs went into effect Friday at 12:01 a.m. and replaced a 10% levy on most imports under a different trade authority, Section 122, which expired Friday.

CBS News also reported that the White House said the new tariffs would apply to products from trading partners it said had failed to crack down on forced labor. Earlier this year, CBS News reported, Trump faced a setback when the Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs on nearly every U.S. trading partner that had been imposed under a federal emergency powers law. The administration has since turned to other trade authorities, including Sections 122 and 301.

Before Trump was elected president in 2024, he said Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had called him directly to complain about fines from European regulators, the BBC reported. The call came not long after Apple lost a long-running dispute over unpaid taxes.