U.S. President Donald Trump fired back at the European Union on Friday after the bloc handed down a massive fine against Alphabet’s Google, vowing that Washington would open a formal investigation into what he described as the EU’s pattern of targeting American companies.
The European Commission issued the fine on Thursday, totaling €890 million — roughly $1 billion — after determining that Google had violated EU rules designed to limit the dominance of major technology companies.
Trump wasted no time responding, taking to social media to announce retaliatory action. “We will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of ‘ROBBING’ American Companies,” he wrote, citing Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 as the legal basis for the probe.
The president made clear he views the EU’s decision as more than just a business dispute. “The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct,” he added in the same post.
