【By Guancha者 Net, Chen Sijia】 The 90-day grace period for the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" in the US is approaching its end, and some Europeans have begun to worry that the EU may make concessions on digital policies, relaxing regulations on American tech giants to secure a trade agreement with the US. However, the European Commission denied this on June 30, emphasizing that it will not include digital regulatory laws in trade negotiations.

According to Reuters, the European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said at a press conference on the 30th that the legislation passed by the EU will not change, and the trade negotiations with the US will not involve the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the EU.

Regnier said the EU will not tolerate foreign governments interfering in the implementation of its regulations, and companies violating these regulatory rules will be subject to heavy fines, "We will not adjust the implementation of our legislation based on the actions of third countries. If we start doing this, we will have to do this for many third countries."

The headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. Visual China

The EU approved the Digital Markets Act in 2022, aiming to regulate large technology companies such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta, standardizing the actions of digital service providers and curbing恶性 competition among large online platforms.

This act defines companies with annual revenue exceeding 7.5 billion euros or a market value of no less than 75 billion euros over the past three fiscal years, providing core platform services in at least three EU member states, and having at least 45 million monthly active users and 10,000 annual active business users in the EU as "gatekeepers," requiring them to fulfill specific obligations.

The EU's Digital Services Act applies to all platforms from February 17, 2024, requiring large online platforms to take more measures to combat illegal and harmful content. The European Commission stated that this regulation aims to protect consumers and their fundamental rights and promote the development of small platforms, SMEs, and startups.

Both of these regulations have been criticized by the US government, which accuses them of "unfairly targeting American companies." In April this year, the European Commission issued its first fine under the Digital Markets Act against two American companies, imposing a fine of 500 million euros on Apple and 200 million euros on Meta. If the two companies fail to comply with the regulations within the deadline, they will face further daily fines.

Reuters reported that Apple has already paid the fine and changed the rules and fees for its app store in the EU region. However, Apple stated that the company does not agree with the EU's required adjustments and plans to appeal. The European Commission stated that it will review whether Apple's adjustments meet the requirements of the Digital Markets Act.

Meta only agreed to make "limited changes" to the "consent or pay" advertising model of its social media products Instagram and Facebook and accused the European Commission of "discriminating" against the company. The European Commission warned on the 27th that if Meta's adjustments are found to be unsatisfactory, the company could face daily fines, potentially reaching 5% of its average daily global turnover.

However, as the final deadline for the US to increase tariffs on July 9 approaches, there are reports that the EU may make concessions to the US, easing regulations on American tech giants. On June 20, the Wall Street Journal cited sources, stating that a draft proposal circulated by the Office of the US Trade Representative addressed preliminary agreements on multiple trade issues, including the EU's Digital Markets Act.

Regarding whether trade negotiations involve amending existing EU laws, European Commission President von der Leyen said on the 23rd, "Generally, negotiations only end after all consultations are completed. But I am very clear that for some issues involving the sovereignty of the EU's decision-making process, we absolutely cannot touch. Of course, we discuss tariff details and non-tariff barriers. However, if the sovereignty decision-making process of the EU and its member states is affected, that would be too extreme."

"Politico" Europe reported that these rumors have raised concerns among European politicians, who warned the EU not to make concessions on digital policies.

European Parliament member Stéphanie Yon-Courtin said, "Suspended the Digital Markets Act to appease the US is an unacceptable surrender." She warned that allowing other countries to pressure the EU to rewrite already-passed laws would set a "dangerous precedent."

Like most countries, the US currently imposes a 10% base tariff on the EU. Trump threatened that if the two sides failed to reach a trade agreement before the July 9 deadline, the EU would be subjected to a 50% punitive tariff. The US has already imposed a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on cars.

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