Donald Trump has vowed to launch a trade investigation into the European Union and threatened a fresh tariff over fines handed to some of the biggest American tech companies, escalating tensions just days after the European Commission fined Google €890m ($1bn) for squeezing out competitors.
In a post on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns, the US president said the EU would pay a “very big price” for its treatment of Google, as well as Apple, Meta and Amazon, which have also faced European regulatory action. “The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” he wrote.
“Trump orders trade investigation into EU over fines on Google, Apple, Meta and Amazon, threatening tariffs.”
Trump called for the fines to be “entirely reversed” and said he was initiating a 301 investigation – a procedure under the Trade Act of 1974 that empowers the Office of the United States Trade Representative to respond to unfair trade practices. The second Trump administration has launched several such investigations since last year. Trump also warned he was considering “a substantial TARIFF”.
The tariff threat comes just one day after Trump announced new tariffs on 60 trading partners, including the EU, UK and China, of between 10% and 12.5%. Last month he threatened a 100% import tariff on any European country that introduces a digital services tax on American technology giants – despite many such nations already having such taxes for years.
Major tech companies, including Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon, have donated millions of dollars to funds behind Trump’s campaign and presidency.
José Castañeda, a spokesman for Google, told the BBC 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,” he added.
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 came from. Representatives of Meta, Apple and Amazon, as well as the European Commission, have been contacted for comment.
Shortly before Trump was elected president in 2024, Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, called him directly to complain about fines from European regulators. That call came not long after Apple lost a long-running dispute over unpaid taxes.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been fined several times by EU regulators. The US president’s latest escalation suggests a widening rift between Washington and Brussels over the regulation of American tech giants.
