Trump threatens EU with tariffs after Google fined for antitrust violations

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on the European Union shortly after the bloc fined Google € 2.95 billion, or $3.47 billion, for violating anti-monopoly laws.

Immediately after the EU ruling, Trump wrote on Friday on his Truth Social site, "Europe today 'hit' another wonderful American company, Google, with a 3.5 Billion Dollar fine, taking effectively money that would go to American Jobs and Investments otherwise … Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it!"

"As I have previously stated, my Administration will NOT stand idly by while these discriminatory measures stand … I will be compelled to initiate a Section 301 proceeding to void the unjustifiably high tariffs being imposed on these Taxpaying American Businesses," the US President further said.

The EU on Friday imposed a fine of nearly $3.5 billion on Google for misusing its dominance in the market by giving its own ad exchanges a competitive advantage over competitors.

The EU also ordered Google to stop these practices.

This marks the fourth time Brussels has penalised the company with a multibillion-euro fine in an antitrust case.

"Today's ruling demonstrates that Google misused its dominance in ad tech to the detriment of publishers, advertisers and consumers," European Commission senior antitrust regulator Teresa Ribera said in a statement.

Google has pledged to appeal the decision.

The EU's enforcement of digital regulations has been a regular point of discussion during trade talks between the bloc and the Trump administration.

Earlier on Friday, the EU said Google must pay a €2.95 billion, or $3.45 billion, antitrust fine for anti-competitive practices in its ad business, marking its fourth penalty in a decade-long battle with EU competition authorities.

"Google has also made, previously, $13 billion in false charges and accusations for a total of $16.5 billion," Trump stated.

"How insane is this? The European Union needs to end this practice against American Businesses, IMMEDIATELY!" Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social.

A US investigation could deliver a significant blow to the EU, which negotiated a hard-fought but controversial trade framework with the US this summer.

Although all 27 members of the bloc voted in favour of the framework, many European leaders have since expressed concerns, and a long-term US trade deal remains uncertain.