The European Union on Thursday signalled its intent to impose bloc-wide retaliatory tariffs on major American technology firms, including Meta and Google, should ongoing negotiations with Washington fail to ease mounting trade tensions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels was prepared to implement its most potent trade measures, with potential targets being the advertising revenues and digital services of Silicon Valley firms.
“We are developing retaliatory measures,” von der Leyen said at a press briefing. “There’s a wide range of countermeasures... in case the negotiations are not satisfactory.”
She added: “An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services.” The proposed move would extend across the EU’s single market, on top of existing digital sales taxes imposed individually by member states.
The development follows US President Donald Trump’s decision earlier this month to pause further tariff increases for 90 days. However, EU imports continue to face a baseline tariff of 10 per cent, down from a proposed 20 per cent under Trump’s new reciprocal trade framework.
Despite this reprieve, von der Leyen described the US position as a “turning point” in global trade. She said there would be no return to the “status quo” in transatlantic commerce.
She also confirmed that the European Commission would temporarily suspend its planned retaliatory tariffs on US steel and aluminium, allowing time for further dialogue. However, she made it clear that the EU would not compromise on its internal regulatory framework.
“We cannot negotiate over our untouchable rules on digital content, market power, and other sovereign decisions,” von der Leyen asserted, adding that the EU had made several attempts to re-engage with Washington in recent months. She claimed that the bloc had received no firm response until Trump’s 2 April announcement, in which he declared a 20 per cent tariff on EU goods as part of his "reciprocal" trade regime.
The European Commission is also reportedly considering invoking the EU’s new anti-coercion instrument, a legal tool that would allow the bloc to take coordinated action against economic intimidation, including in the digital domain.
If enacted, these measures would mark the EU’s first retaliatory action targeting American services rather than goods—a significant shift in the transatlantic economic relationship.
Analysts warn that any tit-for-tat escalation could have broad implications for global trade norms, potentially affecting investment flows, digital infrastructure, and market competitiveness on both sides of the Atlantic.
Follow us
