Trump vows fresh tariffs on EU in retaliation for US$1 billion Google fine
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on European Union products in retaliation for a $1 billion antitrust fine levied against Google. Trump labeled the EU's regulatory actions against American tech giants as discriminatory and vowed to launch a formal trade investigation.
Why it matters
This escalation threatens to reignite trade tensions between the US and the EU, potentially impacting global markets and tech regulation policies.
US President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on products from the European Union in retaliation for the bloc’s US$1 billion (€890 million) fine of Alphabet’s Google.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump said the US would launch a trade investigation “into the practice of ‘ROBBING’ American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer”.
“The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment,” he posted.
The president has frequently made tariff threats against the largest US trading partners, and has followed through on some of them while retreating from others.
Trump said his administration would carry out the investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act, his new favoured legal authority to rebuild the tariff wall that was pierced earlier this year by the US Supreme Court.
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