Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with a trade investigation and a “substantial TARIFF” after Brussels fined Google nearly €1bn. In a blistering post on Truth Social, the US president said the EU would pay a “very big price” for fining Google, along with Apple, Meta and Amazon, and demanded the penalties be “entirely reversed”.
The European Commission slapped Google with a €890m fine days ago for operating in a way that squeezed out competitors to its services. But Trump, who owns Truth Social, took aim at other major US tech firms as well, claiming Apple had received EU fines of $15bn, Meta $3bn and Amazon $2.5bn — although it was not clear where those figures came from.
“Trump threatens trade investigation and tariff against EU over fines on Google, Apple, Meta and Amazon.”
“The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” Trump wrote. He said he would “immediately initiate a 301 investigation” under the Trade Act of 1974, giving the US trade representative power to investigate unfair trade practices. The threat comes a day after Trump announced new tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the EU, UK and China. Last month he 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.” Representatives of Meta, Apple and Amazon, as well as the European Commission, have been contacted for comment.
Trump’s attack on European antitrust enforcement follows a pattern: shortly before his 2024 election, he said Apple chief executive Tim Cook had called him to complain about EU fines, not long after Apple lost a long-running dispute over unpaid taxes. Major tech companies, including Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon, have donated millions of dollars to funds behind Trump’s campaign and presidency — raising questions about how their interests align with his trade war.
