Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with a trade investigation and a “substantial tariff” days after the bloc fined Google €890m ($1bn) for antitrust violations. In a blistering post on his social media platform Truth Social, the US president said the EU would pay a “very big price” over how it had treated Google, along with Apple, Meta and Amazon, which have also faced European scrutiny.
“The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” Trump wrote. He insisted that any fines should be “entirely reversed” and announced he was initiating a “301 investigation” into European regulators’ alleged practice of “robbing American companies and, in turn, the American taxpayer”. Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives the Office of the United States Trade Representative power to respond to unfair trade practices. The second Trump administration has launched several such investigations since last year.
“Trump threatens EU trade investigation and tariffs after Google fined $1bn, calling penalties unfair to US companies.”
The tariff threat came just one day after Trump announced fresh levies on 60 trading partners, including the EU, the UK and China, ranging from 10% to 12.5%. Last month, he also warned of a 100% import tariff on any European country that introduces a digital services tax on American technology giants, despite many such nations already having done so for years.
In his post, Trump claimed Apple had received EU fines of $15bn, Meta fines of $3bn, and Amazon fines of $2.5bn. It was not clear where those figures originated. The EU’s latest action against Google, announced last week, found the company had operated in a way that squeezed out competitors to its services, in breach of the bloc’s Digital Markets Act.
José Castañeda, a spokesman for Google, told the BBC the company had “worked hard to comply” with the regulation but had “expressed our concerns about the impact of recent EC decisions”. He added: “We appreciate the engagement by the administration and US government.”
Major US tech companies, including Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon, have donated millions of dollars to funds behind Trump’s campaign and presidency. Shortly before Trump was elected in 2024, he said Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, had called him directly to complain about European fines. The call came not long after Apple lost a long-running dispute over unpaid taxes.
Representatives of Meta, Apple and Amazon, as well as the European Commission, have been contacted for comment. The escalating rhetoric raises the prospect of a transatlantic trade war over digital regulation, with the EU defending its enforcement actions and Trump vowing to retaliate.