Trump Vows 301 Probe and Tariffs After EU Fines Google $1 Billion

Trump threatens a Section 301 investigation and new tariffs on the European Union, saying penalties against Apple, Meta, Amazon and Google total more than $18 billion.

First Published: July 24, 2026, 9:17 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump vowed to open a Section 301 trade investigation and impose new tariffs on the European Union after regulators fined Google another $1 billion, escalating a fight over penalties he says target American companies.

The threat followed a string of European penalties that Trump tallied at more than $18 billion against Google alone, with additional fines against Apple, Meta and Amazon, according to his post. Trump said the latest Google fine arrived “without explanation” and pledged the penalties would be “entirely reversed.”

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “The European Union is at it again and, as usual, taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies! After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation. This brings the Google total to over 18 Billion Dollars! This illegal and highly discriminatory practice started at these high levels during the first year of the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, but it’s not going to continue during the Trump Administration. The United States of America is not a “PIGGYBANK” for Europe, nor will we allow it to be! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of “ROBBING” American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer. The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about. The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment. Stay tuned! Trump” on July 24, 2026 at 1:06 PM ET.

This is one message released by Trump today. On average, Trump produces about 14 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025.

The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 8 of his 430 posts over the last 30 days focused on tariffs.

A Section 301 investigation is the same statutory tool the first Trump administration used to justify tariffs on Chinese goods. The instrument authorizes the U.S. Trade Representative to probe foreign practices deemed unfair to American commerce, according to ustr.gov. It gives the president wide latitude to retaliate with duties once an investigation concludes.

The stakes reach across the Atlantic economy. American technology companies would gain a powerful advocate against European regulators, while European exporters and their U.S. customers would absorb the cost of any tariff. The European Union ranks among the largest trading partners of the United States, and duties on its goods would ripple through supply chains for cars, machinery and consumer products.

European fines against U.S. technology firms carry deep roots. Regulators in Brussels penalized Google 4.34 billion euros in 2018 over its Android mobile operating system and 2.42 billion euros in 2017 over shopping search results, according to ec.europa.eu. Google appealed those decisions, and European courts upheld the core of the antitrust findings while adjusting some penalties.

For the average American reader, the dispute could touch prices and product choices. Tariffs on European imports raise the cost of goods from wine to automobiles. Any retaliation from Brussels could hit American farm and manufacturing exports that depend on European buyers.

This has happened before. Trump opened a Section 301 investigation into France’s digital services tax in 2019 and threatened tariffs on French goods. That standoff fed into broader transatlantic trade tension before a truce paused the duties, according to ustr.gov.

The next step rests with the U.S. Trade Representative, who would formally launch and conduct any Section 301 investigation. A date for the opening of the probe has not been announced.

Trade clashes between Washington and Brussels have flared repeatedly across decades. The two sides fought a long battle over aircraft subsidies to Boeing and Airbus that ran through the World Trade Organization. Arbitrators authorized the United States to impose tariffs on roughly $7.5 billion of European goods in 2019, according to wto.org. Brussels won its own authorization to hit American products the following year before both sides agreed in 2021 to suspend the tariffs, leaving the underlying grievances unresolved.