Washington — President Trump said Friday that his administration is launching an investigation into the European Union’s trade practices over billions of dollars in fines imposed on the United States’ biggest tech companies.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act is beginning “immediately” and accused the EU of “robbing” U.S. companies and American taxpayers.
“The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about,” he wrote.
The president’s move comes in response to penalties the EU has leveled against Apple, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, Amazon and Google. The EU announced Thursday it is fining Google 890 million euros, or $1 billion, for what it said were breaches of antitrust rules through its app store, Google Play, and search engine.
Mr. Trump said the penalties against the tech giants “will be entirely reversed,” and suggested “a substantial TARIFF” will be placed on the EU “at the earliest possible moment.”
Section 301 aims to address unfair trade practices that impact U.S. commerce, and investigations initiated under the law examine whether the acts are “unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce,” according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The legal authority allows the imposition of tariffs and other penalties if a government investigation finds evidence of unfair trade practices.
The Trump administration has invoked Section 301 to investigate Brazil, India, Japan and others, and on Thursday, the White House announced it would be slapping tariffs on products from 60 U.S. trading partners that it said failed to crack down on forced labor.
The tariff rates range from 10% to 12.5% and went into effect Friday at 12:01 a.m. Those duties replace a 10% levy on most imports under a different trade authority, Section 122, which expired Friday.
Tariffs are a key aspect of Mr. Trump’s economic agenda. But earlier this year, he faced a significant setback when the Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs on nearly every U.S. trading partner, which were invoked under a federal emergency powers law.
In response to the decision, the administration has turned to the other trade authorities — Section 122 and Section 301 — to impose tariffs on other countries.