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Trump targets EU fines
President Donald Trump threatened the European Union with new tariffs and a trade investigation after Brussels imposed a €890 million fine on Google under the European Digital Markets Act, and he framed the move as retaliation for what he called “illegal and highly unethical conduct.”
“The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct”
In a Truth Social post, Trump said, “The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct,” and he added that the “penalties will be entirely reversed” with a “substantial TARIFF” coming “at the earliest possible moment.”
ABC reported that Trump announced “nuevas subidas de aranceles a la Unión Europea” in response to fines imposed on large U.S. companies “como Apple, Amazon o Meta,” and it said the Google-related figure cited by Trump totals “más de 18.000 millones de dólares.”
BBC said Trump also threatened to “immediately initiate a 301 investigation” over European regulators’ alleged practice of “robbing American companies and, in turn, the American taxpayer,” citing Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 as the legal basis for the response.
EU and tech responses
The European Commission’s vice president for digital affairs, Henna Virkkunen, said the Google decision was “a very important decision” aimed to “guarantee a level playing field” for online companies, according to BFM.
Trump’s threats were tied to the EU’s sanction against Google for anti-competitive conduct in online search and within the Google Play app store, with BFM describing the €890 million penalty as the highest under the Digital Markets Act.
José Castañeda, a spokesman for Google, 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.”
The BBC also reported that it was “not clear where the figures cited by Trump come from,” after Trump claimed Apple had received EU fines of $15bn, Meta fines of $3bn, and Amazon fines of $2.5bn.
What happens next
The retaliation threat is linked to Section 301 mechanisms described in multiple outlets, including that the U.S. would launch an investigation and potentially impose tariffs after determining foreign practices are unfair, with BBC noting that Section 301 gives the Office of the United States Trade Representative power to react and investigate.
“Las sanciones serán revocadas por completo”
ABC said Trump warned that “Las sanciones serán revocadas por completo y prevemos que se les impondrá un arancel sustancial lo antes posible,” and it also reported that the U.S. would launch an investigation into what it called “prácticas ‘ilegales y nada éticas’” by the EU.
BFM added that the White House prepares retaliation and quoted Jamieson Greer, the White House’s trade representative, saying the sanction posed “a real risk to maintaining transatlantic stability.”
Separately, ABC reported that Trump’s tariff threats came a day after he announced a new round of tariffs against “cerca de 60 países” after a temporary 10% gravamen expired, and it said the European Commission valued the measure positively because it maintained that 10% in line with a trade agreement.