Trump vows to investigate EU over fining of US tech companies

US President Donald Trump says the United States will launch an investigation into the European Union and has threatened fresh tariffs over fines handed to some of the biggest American tech companies. The announcement comes days after the European Commission fined Google €890 million ($1 billion) for operating in a way that squeezed out competitors to its services.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the EU would pay a “very big price” for how it had treated Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon. He wrote that “the United States of America is not a 'PIGGYBANK' for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” Trump demanded that any fines be “entirely reversed” and said he was initiating a trade investigation of the EU while considering “a substantial TARIFF.”

Trump added that the US would “immediately initiate a 301 investigation” over European regulators’ alleged practice of “robbing American companies and, in turn, the American taxpayer.” Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives the Office of the United States Trade Representative the power to react and investigate trade practices believed to be unfair. The second Trump administration has launched several such investigations since last year.

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%. 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.”

In addition to the recent fine against Google, Trump claimed in his post that Apple had received EU fines of $15 billion, Meta fines of $3 billion, and Amazon fines of $2.5 billion (these claims have not been independently verified). Shortly before Trump was elected president in 2024, he said Apple CEO Tim Cook had called him directly to complain about fines the company had received from European regulators. The call came not long after Apple lost a long-running dispute over unpaid taxes.