US President Donald Trump has threatened fresh tariffs on European Union goods in retaliation for the bloc’s €890 million (approximately $1 billion) antitrust fine against Alphabet’s Google, escalating a long-running dispute over Europe’s regulation of American technology firms.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump said his administration would open a trade investigation into what he described as the practice of “‘ROBBING’ American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.” He vowed that the penalties would be “entirely reversed” and warned that a substantial tariff would be imposed “at the earliest possible moment.”
The fine was issued by the European Commission, which accused Google of abusing its dominant market position by favouring its own advertising technology services over those of rivals. The company has said it will appeal the decision.
Trump’s remarks extended beyond the latest penalty. He argued that fines levied against several major US technology companies — including Apple, Meta and Amazon — should also be scrapped, framing European enforcement actions as discriminatory measures aimed at American firms.
The move marks the latest flashpoint in a broader confrontation between Washington and Brussels over digital regulation and trade. The EU has positioned itself as one of the world’s most assertive regulators of large technology platforms, imposing a series of penalties in recent years under its competition and digital market rules.
This is not the first such penalty Google has faced in Europe. The company was previously handed a multibillion-euro fine over its advertising technology practices, part of a sustained scrutiny of its market conduct that has drawn repeated regulatory challenges across the bloc.
Trade tensions between the two economies have simmered for much of Trump’s term. The president has previously threatened tariffs on European goods across sectors, and has separately clashed with individual American companies over manufacturing and pricing decisions.
European officials have consistently defended the independence of the Commission’s competition enforcement, maintaining that penalties are based on legal findings rather than the nationality of the companies involved. Brussels has also signalled it would respond to any new US tariffs with countermeasures of its own.
The dispute carries significant stakes for transatlantic commerce, which spans trillions of dollars in annual trade and investment. Any escalation in duties could affect a wide range of industries and unsettle markets already navigating uncertainty over global trade policy.
The proposed US trade investigation would need to move through a formal process before any tariffs could be implemented. For now, the standoff underscores the widening gap between American and European approaches to regulating the world’s largest technology companies, with both sides bracing for a potentially prolonged confrontation.