Trump Threatens Tariffs Over EU $3.5bn Google Fine

President Donald Trump has strongly condemned the European Union's $3.5 billion antitrust fine against Google, labeling it "unfair" and threatening retaliatory tariffs if the EU does not repeal the measure. Trump criticized the EU for imposing fines and taxes on American tech companies, including Google and Apple, arguing that these actions take money away from American investments and jobs. He declared that his administration would not tolerate such discriminatory actions and is prepared to initiate a Section 301 trade proceeding to nullify what he calls unfair penalties. The fine against Google marks the EU's fourth major antitrust penalty against the company, which has faced previous hefty fines for alleged abuses of dominance, pushing its total liabilities in the EU to nearly €10 billion. Google has vowed to appeal the latest fine, warning that mandated changes could harm thousands of European businesses. Trump's statements came shortly after hosting Google's CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin at a White House gala, where he praised a recent U.S. court ruling favoring Google in a separate antitrust case.