President Trump has recently slaughtered 30% rates to goods coming from the European Union, climbing a long -term conflict that is writing the rules for Big Tech. The move came as soon as Brussels advanced with more regulations, this time aiming at the growing field of artificial intelligence.
The latest Flashpoint is the new “EU Code” for AI, a set of voluntary guidelines released on Thursday aimed at dealing with public security concerns. Although not legally linked, the Code is based on the EU Landmark Act, and companies that do not sign the intense regulatory scrutiny of August 2. Openai announced its intention to sign the code on Friday, while the Tech Lobby Group CCIA, whose members include Google and Meta, criticized the guidelines.
The Trump administration has been openly hostile to the EU’s attempts to regulate US technology companies. Trump described the block’s strong fines as a “foreign extinction”, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has affirmed They work as back rates.
This view was amplified by Silicon Valley. In January -Announcement, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta said His company “went to work with President Trump to repel governments around the world that go after US companies”, specifically calling European regulators. These tensions have crypto business negotiations; In May, Trump officials officials told the New York Post These talks stopped because of EU’s refusal to leave its multi -million dollar fines against US technology giants.
What fines did the EU impose?
Under the 2022 Digital Market Act (DMA), Middle Eastern European Antrust Act, Apple, Google, Amazon and Meta were all considered “gatekeepers.” This naming brought wave of fines and forced changes to their EU operations. Most recently, Meta has been hit with over $ 200 million a fine after the European Commission found that its “salary-or-consensus” model broke the DMA. According to a Reuters report From Friday, Meta decided to fight the findings and will not propose changes, meaning that more fines are likely on the way.
Will the EU -cave or double?
Despite Trump’s pressure, the EU seems to intend to maintain its regulatory independence. Earlier this month, the European Commission’s technology head, Henna Virkkunen, told Politico that the rules of the Digital Competition block and AI were not for negotiation.
However, the EU showed some willingness to compromise. The block recently dropped a proposed tax on digital companies from its upcoming budget, a move seen as a win for the Trump administration.
The question now is whether these new rates will start and provoke an even harder crack. In response to the first round of rates in April, EU President Ursula von der Leyen was opened about targeting a large Te Techniko with counter -meansing if discussions failed. While the block delayed a set of retaliation measures that came into force this last Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron explained that the EU’s most feared weapon is still on the table: the counter -building instrument.
“With European unity, it is more than ever to the commission to assert the union’s decision to decide to defend European interests,” Macron wrote on X. “This involves speeding up the preparation of credible countermeasures, by mobilizing all instruments at its disposal, including counter-construction, if no agreement is reached from August 1st.”
Together with the president of the European Commission, France shares the same very strong disapproval at the announcement of horizontal 30% rates on the EU -Exports to the United States from August 1.
This announcement comes after weeks of intense engagement of the commission in …
– Emmanuel Macron (@emmanuelmacron) 12 July 2025
The bigger picture
The counter -construction instrument is considered the “Bazooka” in the EU arsenal. While traditional rates hit physical goods, this tool allows the EU to impose business restrictions on the services of a country it thinks it uses economic imposition. If the United States finds the bill, US technology giants that provide digital services, such as Apple, Google and Meta, could be uniquely vulnerable.
Finally, both sides are fighting to protect their own interests: the Trump administration wants to defend US control in the global tea industry industry, while the EU wants to regulate digital platforms according to its own terms. As negotiations continue, they will not only decide the fate of the TE companiesnological companies captured in the middle, but will also establish the rules for global technological sovereignty over the coming years.
But for large ie companiesnological companies trapped in the cross, the message is clear: this is a war against digital sovereignty, and the rules of the following era of the Internet may be written in Brussels as well as in Washington.
