On Tuesday President Donald Trump's administration warned that it could impose restrictions or taxes on European service providers. In its sights: actions deemed "discriminatory" by the European Union and some of its member states against American digital companies. In a post on X, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) accuses Brussels of attacking American firms through lawsuits, fines, directives, and targeted taxes, while European companies such as Accenture, DHL, Siemens AG, Spotify and Mistral, according to Washington, enjoy unfettered access to the US market.
"If the EU persists in hindering the competitiveness of American service providers through discriminatory means, the United States will have no choice but to use every tool at its disposal to counter these unreasonable measures," the USTR warned. Measures under consideration include restrictions or fees targeting several European groups: Amadeus, Capgemini, Publicis, SAP SE, in addition to the companies already cited. This threat comes as Europe tightens regulation of tech giants. In early December, Elon Musk's platform X was hit with a fine of €120m, a few months after a record €2.95bn penalty against Google.
In the face of US criticism, the European Commission defended its position. "Our rules apply fairly to all companies operating in the Union," said its spokesperson Thomas Regnier. He said that the European regulatory framework aims to ensure "a safe, fair and balanced space, in line with the expectations of our citizens," and its enforcement is carried out "without discrimination." Brussels also says it is continuing its cooperation with Washington under the commitments made in the joint EU-US statement.
