Trump threatened to use Section 301 trade powers to counter what he called unfair EU fines on U.S. tech companies.
President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to launch a trade investigation to “nullify” what he described as unfair penalties imposed by the European Union on U.S. tech firms including Google and Apple.
“We cannot let this happen to brilliant and unprecedented American Ingenuity and, if it does, I will be forced to start a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The warning followed a $3.5 billion EU fine against Google in a major antitrust case. Trump, who met tech leaders at the White House earlier this week, also criticized Europe for “taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs.” He claimed Google has paid $13 billion in “false claims and charges” and accused the EU of extracting $17 billion from Apple, including a $14 billion back-tax ruling in Ireland.