The EU is unimpressed by new customs threats and demands by US President Donald Trump.
Speaker: In the first reaction, the European Commission responsible for EU trade policy made it clear in a first reaction that the EU does not want Trump to prescribe which rules they are based on digital platforms and companies. In addition, reference was made to the recent agreements on the settlement of the trade conflict, which provide a customs of 15 percent for almost all products.
Trump had announced on Monday evening (local time) on the Truth Social platform that he would defend himself against countries that would attack American technology companies as a US president. States that have digital tax or regulations for digital threatens with additional tariffs on their exports to the USA and with the imposition of export restrictions on US technology and computer chips, you should not change your regulations.
Trump: US companies are not a footprint
The USA and US technology companies are no longer the “piggy bank” or the “footablet” of the world, he warned and added: “Show America and our great technology companies respect-or wear the consequences!”
Trump did not explicitly mentioned the EU or individual EU countries. However, the US government has been calling for changes to the strict EU digital laws, which, for example, are to prevent the spread of false information via platforms such as X and also affect companies such as Amazon, Apple and Meta (Facebook), Alphabet (Google) and Microsoft.
In the declaration on the customs agreement between the USA and the EU, there is talk of a commitment on both sides to “eliminate unjustified barriers to trade in the digital area”. However, the interpretation of this should diverge: Unlike the United States, the EU does not consider its current rules to be unjustified.
A commission spokesman emphasized on Tuesday that the rules are not only about fair competition, but also about the protection of children and democratic elections. Allegations that the EU’s law on the EU is a censorship instrument would have no basis.