U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday blasted the European Union for imposing what he called an “unfair” $3.47 billion antitrust fine on Google, warning that retaliatory tariffs were on the table unless the decision was reversed. The remarks came a day after Trump hosted Google CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin, along with other tech leaders, at a White House dinner. “Europe today ‘hit’ another great American company, Google, with a $3.5 billion dollar fine, effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American investments and jobs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Very unfair, and the American taxpayer will not stand for it!” Trump linked the ruling to previous EU actions against U.S. tech giants, including a 2016 decision ordering Apple to repay Ireland €13 billion in back taxes. “They should get their money back!” he said, vowing that failure to do so would trigger retaliatory tariffs designed to “nullify the unfair penalties.” At Thursday’s White House dinner, Trump had praised Pichai and Brin following a U.S. court ruling earlier in the week that rejected calls for Google to divest its Chrome browser in a separate antitrust case.
Trump warns EU of tariffs over ‘unjust’ Google decision
