US President Donald Trump has once again threatened his international partners, announcing “substantial tariffs” and export restrictions against any country that dares to introduce a digital tax or enforce its own rules against US tech firms.
What was sold in Scotland as a “deal” between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was never more than a fragile truce, and it has already been broken.
Behind this announcement is an unholy alliance between political power and global tech giants — companies that have no desire to comply with EU or any other rules.
These companies, almost all US-born, are generous during political campaigns — and even more generous afterwards. The CEO of Apple recently presented Trump with a glass plaque on a 24-carat gold base, a gift more suited to a pharaoh than a democratic leader.
These are the same tech companies that pretended to support the EU’s approach to tech policy during the last legislative term, before changing their tune.
These companies have a deep aversion to transparency, data protection and democratic accountability. They talk about innovation, but what they really want is a digital Wild West — a lawless jungle that fattens their profits where the rights of citizens are mere inconveniences.
Europe must stand strong in the face of US pressure
Europe cannot afford ambiguity, even less submission to the wishes of a bunch of oligarchs. This is not about technical details on taxation or digital regulation; it is about our sovereignty and our freedom.
EU laws are drafted in the interest of EU citizens, not rewritten under foreign pressure. Laws like the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) do not target any country or company. They uphold competition, aim for a better protection of our citizens and support the creation of more open and better performing digital markets.
They provide Europeans with rights Americans still lack: the right to cancel a purchase, the right not to have personal data sold off on marketplaces without consent, the right to a fairer digital economy where a handful of giants does not dictate terms to hundreds of millions of citizens.
These rules are the backbone of our regulatory autonomy and proof that Europe can still set standards with the potential to be adopted globally.
Defending European digital democracy
The new threat by Trump means the EU must be ready to defend its autonomy with concrete actions.
We must move forward with a digital tax, because fairness demands that global platforms pay their share. We must activate the new EU anti-coercion instruments — tools designed precisely to counter blackmail and unfair commercial retaliation.
Pressure must be increased on the European Commission for full, prompt and adequate implementation of the DSA, DMA and other digital and AI legislation. If the Commission ever yields to pressure, the European Parliament will take action through lawmaking, resolutions and, if necessary, the Court of Justice.
The United States remains a strategic ally, but allies do not bully each other. Dialogue is possible and desirable. We are open to structured talks with Washington on regulatory transparency, interoperability and due process. Dialogue on technology and digital issues has already begun, and should be used for an open and frank discussion on an equal footing.
But the EU will never rewrite its laws under threat, and we must prepare a response that is both firm and proportionate. These threats go beyond a technical quarrel: They have launched a political battle over Europe’s ability to choose and enforce our digital model. We are fighting for our democratic sovereignty.
United, as Europeans, we must show our citizens and the rest of the world that there is an alternative to the excessive power of Big Tech. We must demonstrate that we are ready to use our weight and our power to counter the arrogance of our historical ally.
Trump is not the “President of Europe” although he might like to think and say so, and the EU was not born “to screw the US” as he also said. The EU is a union of common values and interests which we must always be ready to defend.
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