A group of US lawmakers has urged President Donald Trump to open a formal trade investigation into the European Union’s two flagship technology laws, arguing that enforcement has fallen unfairly on American companies and warrants retaliation under US trade powers.
The push, set out in a letter reported on Tuesday, points to a possible Section 301 inquiry, the same mechanism Washington has used to justify tariff threats against trading partners.
At the centre of the complaint sit the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, the pair of laws Brussels uses to police competition and content on the largest online platforms.
The lawmakers contend that the rules disproportionately hit US firms including Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon, a characterisation the European Commission has consistently rejected. The letter lands after more than a year of transatlantic friction over the bloc’s digital rulebook.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!In February 2025, Trump signed a memorandum directing agencies to scrutinise foreign rules that he said discriminated against US technology, naming the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act specifically.
