By SUNTV Global Channel
United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to launch a Section 301 trade investigation into the European Union, accusing the bloc of unfairly targeting major American technology companies with massive financial penalties.
In a statement posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump alleged that the European Union has imposed what he described as discriminatory and excessive fines on leading U.S. firms, including Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Google.
“The European Union is at it again, taking direct aim at great American companies,” Trump said.
The U.S. president claimed that the EU had fined Apple about $15 billion, Meta $3 billion, Amazon $2.5 billion, while Google had recently received another $1 billion penalty, bringing its total fines to more than $18 billion, according to him.
Describing the penalties as “illegal and highly discriminatory,” Trump vowed that his administration would respond by initiating a Section 301 investigation, a U.S. trade mechanism used to examine and address unfair foreign trade practices.
“The United States of America is not a piggy bank for Europe, nor will we allow it to be,” Trump declared.
He further warned that Washington would retaliate if the European Union continued imposing what he considers unfair penalties on American businesses.
Trump also signaled that his administration could reverse the impact of the fines through trade actions and impose substantial tariffs on European goods.
“The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct,” he said, adding, “Stay tuned.”
The latest remarks mark another escalation in trade tensions between Washington and Brussels, coming shortly after the European Commission imposed a €890 million (about $1 billion) fine on Google over competition-related concerns.
Trump’s warning also follows his recent announcement of new tariffs ranging between 10% and 12.5% on imports from dozens of trading partners, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and China, signaling a tougher U.S. trade stance under his administration.
