Trump threatens the EU with fresh tariffs over its regulatory clash with Silicon Valley

• Donald Trump plans a trade probe into the EU over fines against Google and other US tech firms.
• The EU fined Google $1 billion for unfair competition, prompting threats of US trade investigations.
• Trump accuses the EU of targeting US tech giants like Apple, Meta, and Amazon with unfair fines.

New tariffs could be on the horizon — this time over Silicon Valley.

Donald Trump said Friday his administration will open a trade investigation into the European Union after regulators fined Google about $1 billion, a probe that could pave the way for steep new tariffs on the bloc.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that the EU unfairly targets American technology companies and said the US would immediately launch a Section 301 investigation into what he described as discriminatory treatment of US businesses.

“The European Union is at it again and, as usual, taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies!” Trump wrote, “The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe.”

“The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about,” Trump added.

Trump also criticized previous EU penalties against Apple, Meta, and Amazon, saying that the bloc had repeatedly singled out US firms.

Trump’s comments came a day after the European Commission fined Google €890 million (about $1 billion), saying the company violated the EU’s Digital Markets Act by steering users of Google Search and Google Play toward its own services instead of rivals’. The commission said in a press statement that the action was intended to protect competition and consumers.

“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition, said in a statement.

The latest clash adds to a yearslong dispute between Brussels and Silicon Valley. In 2025, the EU imposed Digital Markets Act penalties of €500 million on Apple and €200 million on Meta after finding that the companies had breached the bloc’s competition rules.

The White House and Google did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

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