President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States will open a formal investigation into the European Union's trade practices, after the bloc fined Google 890 million euros, or $1 billion, for breaking digital antitrust regulations. The target is clear: a transatlantic power struggle where ordinary people get told it’s all about “fairness,” while giant firms and state institutions trade blows over who gets to control the market.
The EU said Google set up Google Play and its search engine to steer consumers toward its own services and apps, to the detriment of competitors. That’s the language of regulation. The reality is a fight over who gets to dominate the digital chokepoints people are forced to use. Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon and other U.S. tech giants sit at the center of it, and the people who actually use their platforms don’t get much say in the matter.
Who Pays for the Power Games
Trump said in a lengthy post on social media that he had warned the EU about its practice of fining U.S. tech companies. He called the United States “not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe” and said his post should serve as notice of an immediate trade investigation “into the practice of ‘ROBBING’ American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.” He added that “The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct,” and said the penalties against the companies “will be entirely reversed.”
He also predicted “a substantial TARIFF” would be placed on the EU “at the earliest possible moment.” “Stay tuned!” he said. That’s the language of state power in its rawest form: threats, tariffs, and retaliation, all carried out from the top while everyone else is expected to absorb the costs.
The move came 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 tariffs are being implemented using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices.
The Gatekeepers and Their Enforcers
The European Commission, the bloc's executive branch and highest antitrust enforcer, said it was acting in the interest of consumers after an investigation of Google. Teresa Ribera, the commission's executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition, said, “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.”
The EU describes Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance as “gatekeepers” that control access for consumers. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said, “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.”
That’s the official script. But the structure underneath stays the same: a handful of corporate giants control access, and state institutions step in after the fact to police the damage, not to hand power back to the people who depend on these systems.
Big Tech, Big Money, Big Control
Google had recently lost its appeal of a $4.5 billion antitrust fine imposed by the EU for throttling competition and reducing consumer choice through the dominance of its mobile Android operating system. The latest fine against Google was the newest major crackdown on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in reining in some of the largest companies from Silicon Valley to Beijing.
José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said the company has worked hard to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act and has expressed concerns about the effects of recent decisions by the European Commission. “We appreciate the engagement by the administration and U.S. government,” he said. Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, called the fine “product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants” that will hurt European businesses and consumers. He said the EU's Digital Markets Act forces Google “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.”
Representatives of Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and there was no immediate comment from the Brussels-based European Commission. Alphabet reported $403 billion in revenue last year. That number hangs over the whole affair like a blunt reminder of who has the money, who has the leverage, and who gets to call the shots while everyone else is told the system is working as designed.