WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The United States will open a formal investigation into the European Union鈥檚 trade practices, President Donald Trump said on Friday, claiming the bloc has unfairly levied against Google, Apple and other U.S. tech giants.
The Republican president made the announcement a day after the EU hit Google with a fine of 890 million euros, or $1 billion, after it said the technology behemoth broke digital antitrust regulations by setting up Google Play and its ubiquitous search engine to corral consumers toward its own services and apps to the detriment of competitors.
In a lengthy post on social media, Trump said he has warned the EU about its practice of . He named Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon and others.
鈥淭he United States of America is not a 鈥楶IGGYBANK鈥� for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!鈥� Trump said, adding that his post should serve as notice of an immediate trade investigation 鈥渋nto the practice of 鈥楻OBBING鈥� American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.鈥�
鈥淭he European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about,鈥� he said.
In the post, Trump asserted that the penalties against the companies 鈥渨ill be entirely reversed鈥� and predicted 鈥渁 substantial TARIFF鈥� would be placed on the EU 鈥渁t the earliest possible moment.鈥�
鈥淪tay tuned!鈥� he said.
Investigation follows new Trump tariffs
Trump’s move comes a day after the White House announced double-digit tariffs on imports from more than 60 countries, accusing them of inadequately enforcing bans on goods produced by forced labor. The new tariffs replace temporary 10% worldwide import taxes that Trump imposed after the Supreme Court .
The new tariffs are being implemented using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions against countries found to engage in 鈥渦njustifiable,鈥� 鈥渦nreasonable鈥� or 鈥渄iscriminatory鈥� trade practices.
Jos茅 Casta帽eda, a spokesperson for Google, said the company has worked hard to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act and has expressed its concerns about the effects of recent decisions by the European Commission.
“We appreciate the engagement by the administration and U.S. government,鈥� he said.
Representatives of Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment. There also was no immediate comment from the Brussels-based European Commission.
Trump had threatened retaliation over EU fines
The EU’s billion-dollar fine against Google was the latest major crackdown on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in reining in some of the world鈥檚 largest companies from Silicon Valley to Beijing.
It has done so despite the risk of incurring the wrath of Trump, who has at the 27-nation bloc鈥檚 digital regulations in a broader campaign against Europe: imposing high tariffs, making threats to seize Greenland from Denmark by force, and rattling trust within the NATO military alliance.
Trump had threatened retaliation if American tech companies are penalized.
Google had recently lost its appeal of imposed by the EU for throttling competition and reducing consumer choice through the dominance of its mobile Android operating system.
The European Commission, the bloc鈥檚 executive branch and highest antitrust enforcer, said it was acting in the interest of consumers after .
鈥淭he best products should succeed because they鈥檙e better, not because they鈥檙e owned by the company running the search engine. And European consumers have a right to be told by app developers where to sign up to the best offers, even when the app store owner does not get a cut,鈥� said Teresa Ribera, the commission鈥檚 executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition.
Google鈥檚 president of global affairs, Kent Walker, assailed the fine as 鈥減roduct degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants鈥� that will hurt European businesses and consumers.
He said the EU鈥檚 Digital Markets Act forces Google 鈥渢o strip away real-time search features Europeans love 鈥� like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants 鈥� and dismantle safety protections on Google Play.鈥�
The EU describes some of the 鈥� Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance 鈥� as 鈥済atekeepers鈥� that control access for consumers.
鈥淚n the EU, businesses have the right to compete fairly. Gatekeepers have the obligation to ensure a level playing field and consumers the right to choose for cheaper alternative offers,鈥� European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said. Alphabet reported last year.
鈥�-
Associated Press writer Kaitlyn Huamani in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
