Trump says EU tariff probe will target fines on U.S. tech companies

President Donald Trump said on Friday that his administration will open a trade probe into the European Union and that the review could lead to a substantial tariff on the bloc. He said the move is a response to EU fines on major U.S. technology companies. Trump criticized the EU’s recent penalties, including a $1 billion fine on Google, and accused European regulators of unfairly targeting American firms. The European Commission has said the fines were tied to Google’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act, which is designed to regulate big tech practices. The administration plans to use Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a tool that can support tariffs if foreign practices are found to burden U.S. commerce. The announcement came just hours after the U.S. imposed new duties on goods from more than 80 countries, and a lawsuit challenging those tariffs was filed the same day.