U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his administration will launch a trade investigation into the European Union following the bloc’s decision to impose a new $1 billion fine on Google over antitrust violations.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump condemned what he described as “illegal” and “discriminatory” actions targeting major American technology companies. He said the United States would immediately initiate an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act, a legal mechanism that allows Washington to examine foreign trade practices deemed unfair and, if necessary, impose retaliatory measures.
Trump also pointed to previous financial penalties imposed by the European Union on Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Google, arguing that U.S. tech firms are being unfairly singled out. According to the president, the total fines levied against Google by European authorities now exceed $18 billion.
He stated that his administration would seek to overturn these financial penalties and warned that the European Union could soon face “substantial” tariffs in response to what he considers unfair treatment of American companies.
On Thursday, the European Union fined Google a total of $1 billion for anti-competitive practices related to its online search services and the Google Play app store. The penalty marks the largest sanction ever imposed under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), legislation designed to curb anti-competitive behavior by major technology companies.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also criticized the decision, warning that it poses “a real risk to maintaining transatlantic stability.”
