On July 25, Trump posted a statement saying, "The EU is once again resorting to its old tricks, consistently directing its attacks straight at America's top-tier corporations! Apple has already been fined $15 billion; Meta, $3 billion; Amazon, $2.5 billion; Google cumulatively fined $18 billion! Under my administration, this won't continue any longer. The U.S. is not Europe’s ATM, and such situations will absolutely not be tolerated. We will immediately initiate Section 301 investigations and swiftly impose high tariffs on the EU. Watch and see!"
It must be said that Trump’s stance is quite encouraging for American businesses. For the EU, it comes like a bolt from the blue, because Trump is once again brandishing the tariff weapon that the EU fears greatly. Why is the EU so afraid of U.S. tariff increases? Because the EU runs a substantial trade surplus with the U.S., and the goods it exports to the U.S. are mostly non-essential items.
Naturally, the EU is deeply influenced by the U.S. in military and political matters. Therefore, whenever the U.S. issues threats, under such multiple pressures, the EU is highly likely to yield and compromise. Thus, Google’s $1 billion fine may very well be temporarily put on hold by the EU. However, when it comes to Chinese enterprises, Europe shows no mercy whatsoever, adopting an extremely tough stance. For instance, this latest fine of €550 million against AliExpress is truly outrageous.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871651025300555/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.