Trump orders US probe of EU tech fines, vows tariffs on Europe

President Donald Trump announced on July 24, 2026 that the United States will open a formal investigation into the European Union’s trade practices, claiming the bloc has unfairly levied billions of dollars of fines against Google, Apple and other U.S. Tech giants. The move follows a day after the EU hit Google with an 890 million euro, or $1 billion, fine 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.

“The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!”

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Donald Trump, President, via his social‑media post

In the post, Trump asserted that the penalties against the companies “will be entirely reversed” and predicted “a substantial TARIFF” would be placed on the EU “at the earliest possible moment.”

EU fine on Google triggers U.S. Response

The European Commission concluded that Google abused its dominance by using Google Play and its search engine to steer users toward its own services, breaching antitrust rules. The 890 million‑euro ($1 billion) sanction follows a separate $4.5 billion antitrust fine that the company recently lost after an appeal over its mobile Android operating system.

Google’s spokesperson José Castañeda 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,” he said.

European Commission executive‑vice‑president Teresa Ribera defended the action, stating, “The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re 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.”

Google’s president of global affairs Kent Walker called the fine “product degradation driven by a small group of self‑serving complainants” and warned that the EU’s Digital Markets Act forces the company “to strip away real‑time search features Europeans love — like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants — and dismantle safety protections on Google Play.”

European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier added, “In 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.” The commission has labelled Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance as “gatekeepers” under the new rules.

Tariff wave expands amid trade‑policy showdown

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 struck down his biggest tariffs.

The new levies 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 “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices.

“Time will tell whether the third attempt to impose tariffs is the charm and this action stands up to legal challenges.”

Wendy Cutler, former senior U.S. trade official, via interview

The Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian advocacy group that successfully challenged earlier Trump tariffs, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, challenging the double-digit import taxes that Trump imposed Friday. Its chair Sara Albrecht said, “Changing the statute doesn’t change the law. Every tariff authority has limits, and every administration must respect them.”

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “opposes all forms of unilateral tariffs” in response to the new 12.5% tariffs, reiterating a longstanding statement by Beijing. “Tariff wars and trade wars do not serve any parties’ interests,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference.

Political and legal backlash

Trump’s latest set of tariff hikes drew objections Friday from America’s trading partners including China and Japan, with Australia’s trade minister slamming them as “completely unjustified.” Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell rejected claims linking Australia to modern slavery. “We believe that amongst all of the countries in the world Australia does take the issue of slavery, modern slavery, seriously, and will continue to do that,” Farrell told reporters in Adelaide. Japan also protested the 12.5% tariff imposed on its exports, noting Tokyo had been reassured by the Trump administration that there would be no more tariffs on top of an earlier agreement on a 10% U.S. Import duty.

Domestically, the Liberty Justice Center lawsuit argues that the new tariffs are a pretext to allow Trump to maintain a wall of tariffs around the U.S. Economy after the Supreme Court struck down big global taxes he’d imposed last year. The group has previously represented businesses that won challenges to the 2025 global tariffs.