Donald Trump issued a stern warning to the European Union on Friday following the announcement of a new fine of approximately 1 billion dollars against Google.
The president announced the immediate launch of a federal investigation into European practices and threatened to impose additional tariffs "as soon as possible."
Trump posted the message on his Truth Social platform accusing Brussels of systematically targeting large American tech companies.
"The European Union is back at it again, and as always, it's targeting the BIG American companies directly," he wrote, listing the sanctions he considers unjustified.
According to the president, the EU fined Apple 15 billion dollars, Meta 3 billion, and Amazon 2.5 billion, and now adds a new penalty of 1 billion against Google "without any explanation," bringing the total against that company to over 18 billion dollars.
The fine that triggered Trump's reaction was imposed by the European Commission on Thursday, under the Digital Markets Act: €890 million divided into two components: €460 million for favoring its own services in Google Search, and €430 million for restrictions placed on app developers in Google Play. Google announced that it would appeal the sanction.
Just three weeks earlier, the Court of Justice of the EU had also upheld the €4.1 billion fine against Google in the Android case, dismissing the company's appeal.
Trump labeled these practices as "illegal and highly discriminatory" and asserted that they began "at these elevated levels during the first year of the Biden administration," but that they will not continue under his government. "The United States is not a 'piggy bank' for Europe, nor will we allow it," he warned.
The president announced the immediate commencement of a Section 301 investigation, the mechanism outlined in Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows Washington to impose tariffs or other measures against countries with trade practices deemed unfair or discriminatory.
"The European Union will pay a very high price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct," he wrote, adding that he hopes the payment of the fines will be reversed and that "a substantial tariff" will be imposed soon.
The announcement comes a day after Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 countries, including the EU, also under Section 301, effective from midnight this Friday. These goods account for 99.4% of total U.S. imports, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
The European Commission reacted with a "cautious welcome" to the new trade tariffs, noting that they align with the framework of the joint agreement between both parties. Its spokesperson downplayed the threat linked to the fine on Google, stating that Brussels "is not concerned" about a potential U.S. retaliation.
Trump's movement also has legislative backing: a group of 25 U.S. Congress members urged the president last week to take action against European technology regulations, explicitly suggesting the use of Section 301 if diplomatic avenues failed.
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