Trump Slams EU for 'Raiding' U.S. Tech Giants, Threatens Heavy Tariffs

According to CNBC, former U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (24th) that his administration will launch a trade investigation into the European Union (EU), aiming to overturn the bloc's massive fines on American tech giants and potentially impose 'high' tariffs on the 27-member alliance.

Trump posted a lengthy message on Truth Social, accusing the EU of 'raiding' American companies and, by extension, American taxpayers. He expressed strong dissatisfaction over the EU's recent $1 billion fine against Google for allegedly favoring its own services in search results.

'Here we go again with the EU, and as usual, they are targeting great American companies!' Trump wrote, also criticizing past EU fines against Apple, Meta, and Amazon.

Trump claimed the recent penalty against Google was issued 'without any explanation.' However, the European Commission stated in a press release on Wednesday that the €890 million fine was due to Google's alleged violation of the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation designed to strengthen oversight of large tech companies' business practices.

Trump asserted that such behavior 'will not continue under a Trump administration.' He wrote, 'The United States is not Europe’s ATM, and we will never allow it to become one!'

The U.S. will 'immediately' initiate an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the U.S. to impose tariffs on actions deemed to unfairly burden American commerce.

The Trump administration has repeatedly used this tariff authority to launch investigations. Just hours earlier, the U.S. imposed new 10% to 12.5% tariffs on goods from over 80 countries, including EU nations, citing forced labor concerns.

On Friday afternoon, a lawsuit challenging these new tariff measures was filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade. Brought by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of two small businesses, the lawsuit argues that the federal government is improperly using Section 301 to effectively reinstate Trump’s 2025 'Liberation Day' tariffs, which were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year.

In his Friday post, Trump said of the EU’s stance toward U.S. tech firms, 'The EU will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical behavior. I have long warned them about this.'

He added, 'These fines will be fully reversed, and we expect to impose high tariffs on them as quickly as possible. Stay tuned!'