U.S. Threatens Penalties Against European Tech Firms Amid Regulatory Fight

The Office of the United States Trade Representative excoriated the European Union for discriminating against American technology companies and threatened to penalize European tech companies in return. The pronouncement appeared to signal a rockier period for U.S.-E.U. trade relations, as the two governments work to complete a trade framework. The United States has been pushing Europe to open up its tech sector to American firms. But U.S. officials have complained that the European Union has not walked back broader regulation of company business practices while also proceeding with investigations of major American tech firms like Google, X, Amazon and Meta. The Office of the United States Trade Representative, which has carried out the negotiations, said the European Union and some member states had “persisted in a continuing course of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines and directives” against American companies.