Twenty-five Republican members of Congress have sent a letter to President Donald Trump calling on his administration to take a hard stand against European Union technology regulations, arguing that EU digital policies are being used to unfairly squeeze American companies.
The letter, which was reviewed by Reuters, zeroed in on the EU’s Digital Markets Act — a set of rules designed to limit the market power of major tech firms including Amazon, Apple, Booking Holdings, ByteDance (the company behind TikTok), Google, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft.
“We write to bring to your attention the many ways the EU continues to pursue anti-competitive acts, policies, and practices as a tool of economic extraction and regulatory coercion against American firms and to encourage your administration to take decisive action before the EU further entrenches this anti-American regime,” the lawmakers stated in the letter.
Seven of the 25 signatories sit on the House of Representatives trade subcommittee, including Adrian Smith, who leads that panel. The group raised concerns that plans to bring Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud divisions under the scope of the Digital Markets Act would place those companies under regulatory pressure that their European and Chinese rivals would not face.
The lawmakers also took aim at an anticipated EU fine against Google for alleged violations of the Digital Markets Act, saying regulators were ignoring meaningful changes the company had already made to its search platform.
Additionally, the group questioned why Apple, Meta, and Amazon have been designated as so-called “gatekeepers” under EU rules — a label that carries additional obligations — while Chinese retail platforms Temu and AliExpress have not been given the same designation. The letter noted that such classifications are based on the number of users a platform has within Europe.
The lawmakers warned that if diplomatic talks fail to produce results promptly, the U.S. should consider every option available, including invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 — a law that gives the U.S. government the power to impose tariffs or other retaliatory measures against countries engaged in unfair trade practices.
“It is important to make clear that the EU’s access to the U.S. market is not guaranteed and can be limited should the EU continue to pursue discriminatory acts, policies, and practices in the digital sector,” the letter read.
The lawmakers also pointed to the open access European businesses currently enjoy in the American marketplace as a point of contrast. The European Commission, which maintains that its regulations are not aimed at any specific country and are intended to create a level playing field, did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
