EU resists Trump: Tech regulation is our ‘sovereign’ right

The European Commission on Tuesday defended the bloc’s right to set and enforce its own tech rules, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on countries with digital policies he considers “discriminatory.”

"It is the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate economic activities on our territory, which are consistent with our democratic values," European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said during an afternoon briefing.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, threatened to "impose substantial additional Tariffs" and place export restrictions on technology and chips on countries with digital rules he deemed to be discriminatory to American companies.

The bombshell missive landed just days after Trump and Brussels issued a statement to formalize their tariff truce, provisionally established at Turnberry in Scotland in late July.

"As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies, " Trump said. “America, and American Technology Companies, are neither the 'piggy bank' nor the 'doormat' of the World any longer. Show respect to America and our amazing Tech Companies or, consider the consequences!” he railed.

Responding to Trump’s claim that EU legislation was “attacking” American tech companies, Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier insisted that the rules are neutral.

“The DSA does not look at the color of a company, at the jurisdiction of a company, nor the owner of a company,” he said. “The DSA and the DMA both apply to all platforms and companies operating in the EU irrespective of their place of establishment … The last three enforcement decisions that we took were against AliExpress, Temu and against TikTok.”