US President Donald Trump has denounced a €3.2 billion ($3.47 billion) antitrust fine imposed on Google by the European Union, describing it as “very unfair” and warning of retaliatory tariffs if Brussels does not reverse the measure.
The penalty, announced this week, accused Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising market. Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform Friday, said the fine amounted to Europe taking money “that would otherwise go to American investments and jobs.”
“Very unfair, and the American taxpayer will not stand for it!” he declared.
Trump pointed to earlier EU rulings against US tech firms, including a 2016 order requiring Apple to pay Ireland €13 billion in back taxes. He insisted Washington should recover those funds, threatening tariffs to “nullify the unfair penalties.”
His remarks came a day after hosting Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin at a White House dinner, where he praised the company for a US court victory blocking an attempt to force it to sell its Chrome browser.
The escalating row threatens to deepen transatlantic trade tensions as Trump continues his push to defend American tech giants against what he calls “discriminatory” European regulation.
