President Donald Trump is escalating the fight over European Union antitrust penalties against Apple, Google, and other U.S. tech companies by opening a trade investigation that could lead to new tariffs.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Donald TrumpTrump announced the investigation in a social media post after the European Commission fined Google 890 million euros on July 23 for violating the Digital Markets Act.
The fine included 460 million euros, or about $517 million, for favoring Google services in search results and 430 million euros, or about $483 million, for restricting how businesses direct Google Play users to alternative purchasing options.
“The United States of America is not a PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be,” Trump wrote. He accused the EU of unfairly taking money from American companies and said its penalties should be reversed.