US President Donald Trump has now expressed anger towards the European Union (EU), threatening to impose heavy tariffs. The reason for his displeasure stems from a decision concerning Google.
US President Donald Trump has now expressed anger towards the European Union (EU), threatening to impose heavy tariffs. The reason for his displeasure stems from a decision involving Google.
The European Union imposed a €3.47 billion (approximately ₹28,945 crore) fine on Google, citing violations of competition laws. Trump retaliated immediately after the EU's decision.
In a Friday social media post, Trump wrote that Europe has fined another large American company, Google, €3.5 billion, money that could have gone towards American investment and jobs. He stated that this is highly unfair and American taxpayers will not tolerate it.
The US President further stated that, as he has said before, his administration will not tolerate these discriminatory actions. He indicated that he will be forced to initiate action under Section 301 to overturn these unfair fines imposed on American companies.
The European Union, while imposing the fine on Friday, stated that Google had influenced the market by giving its advertising exchanges a competitive advantage over rivals.
This marks the fourth time Brussels has fined the company billions of dollars in an antitrust case. European Commission's top antitrust regulator, Margrethe Vestager, said in a statement that Google abused its dominant position in ad tech, harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers.
Google has vowed to appeal the decision. It is noteworthy that the issue of the EU enforcing digital regulations has regularly arisen during trade talks between the European Union and the Trump administration.
Trump stated that Google has already paid the EU €13 billion due to false claims and accusations, bringing the total to €16.5 billion.
He questioned, "How crazy is this?" He urged the European Union to immediately cease such actions against American companies.