Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with additional and “substantial” tariffs, accusing Brussels of “robbing” American companies by imposing steep fines on US tech giants. In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote: “The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!”
The threat came days after the European Commission fined Google €890m ($1bn) for breaching competition rules by giving preferential treatment to its own services, including shopping, hotels, transport and sports results. Trump claimed that Apple had received EU fines of $15bn, Meta fines of $3bn, and Amazon fines of $2.5bn – though it was not clear where those figures originated.
“Trump launches trade investigation and threatens new tariffs on EU after Google fined €890m by Brussels.”
“The EU will pay a very big price,” Trump wrote, announcing he would “immediately initiate a 301 investigation” under the Trade Act of 1974, which gives the US trade representative the power to respond to unfair trade practices. He said the fines should be “entirely reversed” and warned of “a substantial TARIFF”.
The tariff threat came just one day after the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on 60 trading partners, including the EU, UK and China, ranging from 10% to 12.5%. Last month, Trump also threatened a 100% import tariff on any European country that introduces a digital services tax on American tech giants.
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”. He added: “We appreciate the engagement by the administration and US government.”
The European Commission did not immediately comment on Trump’s threat. Major 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, Apple chief executive Tim Cook called him directly to complain about EU fines, following a long-running dispute over unpaid taxes.
Trump has frequently used tariffs – or the threat of them – to retaliate against countries for decisions outside trade policy, including last year’s threat of taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada until they agreed to border security measures. The latest confrontation with the EU raises questions about the future of trade relations between the two blocs.