Trump vows new tariffs on the E.U. after Brussels fines Google $1 billion

Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. would conduct a trade investigation "into the practice of 'ROBBING' American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer." He said the probe would proceed under Section 301 of the Trade Act. "The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment," Trump wrote.

The president also criticized past European fines against Apple $AAPL, Meta $META, and Amazon $AMZN, calling the pattern an "illegal and highly discriminatory practice," according to Bloomberg.

The E.U. imposed two separate fines on Google on Thursday totaling €890 million ($1 billion): €460 million for self-preferencing in search results and €430 million for restricting how app developers direct users to offers outside Google Play. Regulators found that Google elevated its own services — including shopping, hotels, and travel — above competing results, and that fees it charged developers for steering-related activity exceeded what the DMA permits. Google has 60 days to come into compliance, after which penalties could reach 5% of the company's global annual turnover.

Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs at Alphabet, criticized the decisions. "This implementation of the DMA continues to break everyday products. To comply, we are having 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," Walker said in a statement. Google said it is reviewing the decisions and evaluating whether to appeal.

E.U. antitrust chief Teresa Ribera defended the fines. "The best products should succeed because they're better, not because they're owned by the company running the search engine," she said in a statement.

The latest threat comes against a backdrop of existing trade friction. The U.S. and E.U. reached an agreement last year capping American tariffs on most imports from the bloc at 15%, according to Bloomberg. Separately, Trump has levied tariffs of no less than 10% on goods from roughly 60 countries, the E.U. among them, invoking Section 301 authority on the basis of forced labor concerns.