Trump calls EU fine on Google unfair and discriminatory, threatens trade probe

US President Donald Trump has threatened to launch a trade investigation against the European Union after Brussels fined Google $3.46 billion for abusing its dominant position in the digital advertising market. The move has escalated tensions between Washington and the EU, with the White House warning of retaliatory measures to protect American technology companies.

In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump sharply criticised the European Commission’s decision, calling it unfair and discriminatory toward US companies.

"Europe today 'hit' another great American company, Google, with a $3.5 Billion Dollar fine, effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs. This is on top of the many other Fines and Taxes that have been issued against Google and other American Tech Companies, in particular. Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it!" Trump wrote.

He added that his administration "will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand," pointing to previous penalties against US firms. "Apple, as an example, was forced to pay $17 Billion Dollars in a Fine that, in my opinion, should not have been charged -- They should get their money back!"

In a follow-up post, Trump claimed Google had already paid $13 billion in "false claims and charges," bringing the total to $16.5 billion. He demanded the EU "stop this practice against American companies immediately."

WHITE HOUSE THREATENS SECTION 301 PROBE

Trump warned that if the EU continues with what he called unfair penalties, he would initiate a Section 301 proceeding -- a trade law tool that allows Washington to impose tariffs or other measures against discriminatory practices.

"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," he said.

EU SAYS GOOGLE DISTORTED ADTECH MARKET

The European Commission announced the $3.46 billion fine on Friday, accusing Google of distorting competition in the adtech market. Regulators argued that the company’s control of both the buy and sell sides of online advertising created "inherent conflicts of interest."

"Google must now come forward with a serious remedy to address its conflicts of interest, and if it fails to do so, we will not hesitate to impose strong remedies," said European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera.

The Commission noted that while structural remedies such as forcing Google to divest parts of its advertising technology business remain on the table, it would first consider the company’s proposals. Google has 60 days, until early November, to respond.

The decision comes after a charge sheet issued in 2023 concluded that mandatory divestment of parts of Google’s adtech operations could be the only effective way to curb anti-competitive practices.

- Ends

With inputs from agencies

Tune In