Michael Hernandez
September 05, 2025•Update: September 06, 2025
WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump threatened to open an investigation into the EU that could lead to a new round of tariffs unless the 27-nation bloc reverses fines it imposed on American tech companies Google and Apple.
Trump's warning comes a day after he hosted tech leaders, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook, for dinner at the White House. Trump said the firms "should get their money back!" following successive multi-billion-dollar penalties being imposed on them.
"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," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"My Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand. 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!" he added.
Trump said that if the fines are not rescinded, he will begin an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which would open the door to him imposing tariffs or other import restrictions on the EU.
Trump said that by doing so, he would "nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies."
Trump used the act during his first term to open six different investigations, two of which resulted in tariffs being imposed on the EU and China, according to the online database of the US Congress.
It is unclear if such actions would imperil a trade deal Trump struck with the EU in July that the White House hailed as "fundamentally rebalancing the economic relationship between the world’s two largest economies."
The EU's $3.5 billion fine against Google came after the bloc determined the tech giant violated competition rules in its digital advertising activities. The bloc said Google was found to have violated the rules by favoring its own online advertising technology services over its competitors.
The statement also indicated that the EU Commission had ordered Google to cease its preferential practices and eliminate conflicts of interest in the advertising technology supply chain, noting that the company must formally notify the EU of the steps it will take in this regard within 60 days.
It is unclear which $17 billion fine against Apple Trump was referring to in his social media post, but Apple and Google lost a pair of cases they took to the EU's top court in 2024.
Apple was ordered to pay $14.34 billion in back taxes owed to Ireland, while Google was ordered to pay a $2.7 billion antitrust fine. Apple was separately hit with an over $1.8 billion fine for its App Store practices earlier in 2024.
