EU seeks dialogue with US after Google fine escalates trade tensions

The European Commission said on Friday it would engage with the United States to de-escalate tensions after the EU executive fined Google on Thursday over its dominance in the EU's digital market, sparking an angry reaction from Washington. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the fine jeopardised dialogue between the two sides of the Atlantic on digital regulation, as well as the trade deal struck last year after tough negotiations.

The Trump administration has persistently criticised the EU's digital rules, accusing Brussels of imposing non-tariff barriers on US companies and disproportionately targeting American Big Tech. However, the Commission's chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said on Friday that the US had left the door open for talks. “There’s a call for dialogue which we fully embrace,” she said, adding that Brussels would engage while preserving the EU's regulatory “autonomy”.

Earlier this week, 25 US lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump calling for a US investigation into EU trade practices ahead of the anticipated fine against Google. The fine was announced on Thursday, penalising the tech giant €890 million under the EU's Digital Markets Act, which Washington has relentlessly criticised over the past year, along with the Digital Services Act.

“We are trying to resolve our concerns with the EU’s Digital Markets Act and other actions through responsible, constructive dialogue,” Greer said in a statement after the fine. “The EU’s recent actions undermine these efforts and pose a real risk to the continuation of transatlantic stability with respect to trade,” he added.

German Socialist MEP Bernd Lange, the European Parliament's trade chief, told Euronews that he feared further escalation in transatlantic relations and expected additional action from the US. He was at the forefront of implementing the EU-US agreement reached in July 2025 by Trump and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after weeks of trade disputes.

Despite the deal, EU officials still consider transatlantic relations volatile. On Thursday, the White House announced a new tariff regime targeting its trading partners, including the EU, over forced labour allegations. While insisting it has stringent rules to combat forced labour products, Brussels chose not to retaliate, arguing that the new tariffs respected the 15 percent cap on EU goods set out in the trade deal.