President Donald Trump Announces Immediate Section 301 Investigation, Vowing Tariffs in Response to European Union Fines Targeting Major American Technology Companies
President Donald Trump announced that his administration will launch a formal investigation into the European Union's trade practices, warning of new tariffs in response to billions of dollars in fines imposed on U.S. technology companies.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said the investigation would begin "immediately" under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law that authorizes the president to protect U.S. businesses against unfair trade practices through tariffs and other sanctions.
Trump accused the European Union of "robbing" American companies and, by extension, U.S. taxpayers.
"The European Union is at it again and, as usual, taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies!" Trump wrote, referring to years of European regulatory actions against Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon.
Most recently, on Thursday, the European Commission fined Google 890 million euros (approximately $1 billion) for violating the bloc's Digital Markets Act.
The penalty includes a 460 million euro fine (around $523 million) for allegedly giving Google's own services preferential placement in search results, along with a 430 million euro fine (around $489 million) over restrictions that regulators said prevented app developers from freely directing customers to lower-cost purchasing options outside the Google Play app store.
Google criticized the rulings and said it may appeal. The company argued that the changes sought by European regulators would reduce the usefulness of its search features and weaken safety protections on Google Play.
Backing Google's position, Trump said the latest penalties, along with previous actions taken against American technology companies, "will be entirely reversed." He added that "a substantial TARIFF" would be imposed on the European Union "at the earliest possible moment."
"The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about," Trump wrote.
The warning comes as the Trump administration continues to use Section 301 to advance its broader trade agenda.
On Thursday, the United States imposed new tariffs on goods imported from 60 trading partners, including the European Union and China. The duties were generally set at 10 percent or 12.5 percent, following findings that the affected economies had failed to impose or adequately enforce bans on imports produced with forced labor.
For the European Union and several other major trading partners, the tariffs were calibrated so that the new duties, combined with existing U.S. tariff rates, generally totaled 10 percent or 12.5 percent. A wide range of products was exempted, including oil and gas, fertilizers, certain food products, aircraft, critical minerals, and other specified goods.
The new tariffs took effect after a temporary 10 percent global import surcharge expired early Friday. Trump had imposed the surcharge in February under Section 122 of the Trade Act after the Supreme Court struck down much of his previous tariff program, which had relied on the president's emergency economic powers.
