European Union‘s relief with new US tariffs announced on Europe on Thursday July 23 was short-lived. As just hours later an angry US President Donald Trump has threatened the 27-nation bloc with new “substantial TARIFF”. The trigger is EU’s $1 billion fine on Google announced this week. European officials had breathed a sigh of relief over the new tariff rates, which were set at 10 percent for the EU and abided by the Turnberry agreement. In 2025, Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed Turnberry deal that capped US tariffs on EU exports at 15 percent. In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused the bloc of “robbing” American companies and pledging to initiate a trade investigation. The US president’s threat came just a day after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned that the EU’s action against Google could hurt the bloc’s relationship with the White House. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “The European Union is at it again and, as usual, taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies! After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation. This brings the Google total to over 18 Billion Dollars! This illegal and highly discriminatory practice started at these high levels during the first year of the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, but it’s not going to continue during the Trump Administration. The United States of America is not a “PIGGYBANK” for Europe, nor will we allow it to be! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of “ROBBING” American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer. The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about. The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment. Stay tuned! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
US trade chief warns Google fine could threaten Turnberry deal
Earlier on Thursday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer accused the European Union of creating renewed instability in the transatlantic trade relationship after it slapped a $1 billion fine on Google. The US has long argued that Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) unfairly targets U.S. tech companies. Greer blasted the latest ruling and accused the commission of undermining ongoing talks on the issue.
What EU said on imposing $1 billion fine on Google
On July 23, European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said in a press release that the fines totaling $1 billion were due to Google’s alleged noncompliance with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, which aims to scrutinize Big Tech’s practices. Here’s the EC press release: “Today, the European Commission took two decisions finding non-compliance by Google with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for self-preferencing its own services on Google Search, and for putting in place restrictions on businesses to direct consumers to alternative, often cheaper, purchase channels on Google Play (steering). In this regard, the Commission issued Google a fine of €460 million and a fine of €430 million respectively. Self-preferencing on Google SearchUnder the DMA, gatekeepers must not treat their own services more favourably in ranking than third-party services. They have to apply transparent, fair and non-discriminatory conditions to such ranking.The Commission found that Google gives preferential treatment to its own services, including shopping, hotels, transport and sports results, over those of third parties in Google Search, thereby breaching its obligations under the DMA.Google displays its own services more prominently in search results, including at the top of the search results page or by using enhanced visuals and filters, while similar third-party services do not have the same prominence.Google’s anti-steeringUnder the DMA, app developers that distribute their apps via Google Play should be able to inform customers – free of charge – of alternative, often cheaper, offers, and to direct them to those offers to make purchases, for example on websites or alternative app stores.The Commission found that Google failed to comply with that obligation.In particular, Google prevents app developers from freely communicating and promoting offers and concluding contracts with users in distribution channels of their choice, including third-party app stores.While Google can receive a fee for facilitating the initial acquisition of a new customer by an app developer via Google Play, the level of the steering-related fees charged by Google and the length of the charging period for these fees went beyond what is considered compliant with the DMA.”
