The European Union (EU) has the sovereign right to regulate the economy and technology, the European Commission said today, responding to US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose additional tariffs on countries he says are undermining US technology companies.
Brussels has rejected accusations that US companies have been deliberately targeted by the digital rules.
“Taxes or laws on digital services, as well as regulations on digital markets, are all designed to discriminate against or harm US technology,” Trump wrote late last night on his Truth Social platform.
If these “discriminatory measures” are not removed, Trump did not rule out the possibility of imposing “significant additional tariffs” on products from these countries, or imposing export restrictions on US technology and chips.
Although Trump did not mention the EU directly, it actually has the most powerful legal arsenal in the world for regulating digital technology.
“It is the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate economic activities on their territory in accordance with democratic values,” said EU executive spokeswoman Paula Pinho.
