EU Antitrust Actions Slammed by Trump as Unfair Taxation of American Tech Giants
President Trump vehemently criticized the European Union's antitrust actions against American technology companies, denouncing the billions in fines as a form of corporate taxation. His remarks came during a virtual appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he outlined plans for his second term.
"They've gone after Apple in court, they've won supposedly a case that most people would think is not much of a case, but they got $15 billion or $16 billion from Apple. They got billions from Google. I think they're going after Facebook for billions and billions," Trump said.
According to Trump, the EU's actions against American companies are unjust. "These are American companies, whether you like them or not, they are American companies, and they shouldn't be doing that. And as far as I'm concerned, it's a form of taxation," he added.
EU's Aggressive Pursuit of American Tech Dominance
The EU has been actively addressing the growing power of American tech companies for years. Notably, Apple was fined €13 billion for unpaid taxes in Ireland, resulting in a significant financial impact in Q4. Google was also ordered to pay €2.7 billion for abusing its price comparison tool.
European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has been instrumental in spearheading these antitrust actions against big tech. Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have also faced scrutiny, with fines totaling €797 million, $47 billion, and objections to tying Teams software to Office 365 productivity suites, respectively.
US Antitrust Battles
The US has also initiated legal proceedings against Big Tech over alleged antitrust violations. The Department of Justice successfully won a landmark case against Google's search business and is currently appealing the decision. The DOJ has further filed antitrust suits against Apple, Amazon, and Meta, targeting their alleged monopolistic practices and restrictive business practices.
Big Tech's Support for Trump and Potential Regulatory Favoritism
Prior to the 2024 election, tech executives sought to align themselves with Trump, with Zuckerberg praising his handling of an assassination attempt in July 2024. Amazon's Bezos, Google's Pichai, and Tesla's Musk attended Trump's inauguration, along with significant financial support from Apple and OpenAI.
With Trump's vocal support for Big Tech and their efforts to gain his favor, it remains to be seen whether these companies will encounter a more lenient regulatory environment in the future.