Europe fears a new confrontation with Trump — this time, in technology

Brussels — After a year full of trade tensions between the United States and the European Union, one pending complaint still has the potential to reignite the conflict: the way the bloc regulates technology.

At the center of this dispute is the EU Digital Services Law, which requires big technology companies to take measures to prevent illegal or dangerous content from circulating on their platforms. The Trump administration, arguing that these rules hamper free speech and impose unfair barriers on American companies, has repeatedly warned that it may retaliate.

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Now, European officials are beginning to worry, in private and public conversations, that this is just the calm before a new storm created by Trump.

“The United States will, in the coming months — that’s for sure — attack us because of digital regulation,” French President Emmanuel Macron told several European outlets in an interview this month, suggesting that the US could impose tariffs on the EU related to the Digital Services Act.

The Trump administration recently echoed that prediction.

European regulation of online services has “almost become a kind of digital radar to try to fine American companies,” David Sacks, a White House official, said on the All-In podcast last month.

“You could argue that this works, in practice, as a tariff on American technology companies operating in Europe,” he added. “If that’s the case, well, Europe might have tariffs — but then that will change the tariffs we set.”

Sarah B. Rogers, deputy secretary of state for public diplomacy at the State Department and a guest on this episode of the podcast, agreed that “many Americans see this as a tax.”

Bill White, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, said in an interview that Michael J. Rigas, a senior State Department official, would go to Brussels in early March, in part to discuss freedom of expression and digital regulation with EU officials. The State Department’s press office confirmed the trip and reported that he would deal with European digital rules.

It’s not clear what the United States could do if it decided to attack Europe over its digital regulations, nor which companies could be targeted.

Some trade experts suggest that one option would be a “Section 301 investigation,” a mechanism in American trade law to combat foreign trade practices considered unfair. This instrument allows the United States to impose tariffs, fees or other punishments on countries considered violators.

Trump has already used this type of investigation against China, but has so far used other tools against Europe.

It is also unclear what exactly would prompt the United States to act, if it did.

For months, the Trump administration has vaguely threatened to impose tariffs or other penalties on European companies if the bloc continues to enforce its digital rules.

Last year, the Office of the US Trade Representative suggested in a memo that it was evaluating ways to punish countries that, in its view, discriminate against US companies through digital services regulations.

In December, the body published on the social platform

The office noted that US law allows “the charging of fees or the imposition of restrictions on foreign services” in response, among other options. It has previously pointed out that European companies such as Accenture, Spotify and Capgemini operate in the United States, suggesting that they could be targeted.

The United States has already imposed travel bans on several people involved in digital regulation, including a former EU official.

Asked to comment on the topic, the US trade office responded that, although a trade agreement between the US and the EU reached last year addressed many issues, the Trump administration still wants to “achieve justice” in digital trade and has “additional options” if the negotiation does not work.

But some experts say the United States is unlikely to follow through on threats to attack Europe over its technology rules, in part because tensions between the two trading partners have finally cooled.

The European Parliament can take another step towards approving the trade agreement signed last year, which would apply 15% tariffs to many European products.

“I think the bar for something big is very high,” said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior researcher at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank.

So far, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, has repeatedly said it will not back down on its digital regulations. In recent months, it has continued to actively apply them, despite threats from the Trump administration.

In December, the commission announced that it would impose a fine of 120 million euros (R$732 million) on X due to transparency problems. Regulators in Brussels have also been investigating Google and Meta for possible violations of competition and online safety laws.

“I want to be very clear: our digital sovereignty is our digital sovereignty,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the commission, at the Munich Security Conference last week. “We have a long tradition of freedom of expression. After all, the Enlightenment began on our continent.”

Europe, she said, will not “waver” in applying its digital rules.