Trump threatens more tariffs on EU following Google fine

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to impose more tariffs on the European Union (EU) shortly after the bloc slapped a 2.95-billion-euro fine, or 3.47 billion U.S. dollars, on Google for violating anti-monopoly laws.

AI Brief

The EU fined Google US$3.5 billion for abusing its dominance in ad tech, marking its fourth major antitrust penalty.
Trump criticised the fine as discriminatory and warned he may launch a Section 301 probe to counter EU actions.
Google plans to appeal, while the issue adds tension to ongoing US-EU trade negotiations over digital regulation.

Right after the EU decision, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "Europe today 'hit' another great American company, Google, with a $3.5 Billion Dollar fine, effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs ... Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it!"

"As I have said before, my Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand ... I will be forced to start a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies," Trump added.

The EU announced Friday a fine of nearly 3.5 billion dollars against Google for abusing its market dominance by giving its own ad exchanges a competitive advantage over rivals. The EU also ordered Google to stop these practices. It is the fourth time Brussels has sanctioned the company with a multibillion-euro fine in an antitrust case.

"Today's decision shows that Google abused its dominant position in ad tech, harming publishers, advertisers and consumers," Teresa Ribera, the European Commission's top antitrust regulator, said in a statement.

Google vowed to appeal the decision.

The EU's enforcement of digital regulations came up regularly during trade negotiations between the bloc and the Trump administration.