US Wages Countermeasures on European Companies After EU Fines

President Donald Trump's administration warned that the US could impose fees or restrictions on European service providers. The announcements come in response to what the administration calls discriminatory actions against US companies.

The Office of the US Trade Representative accused the EU and some of its member states of "discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives against U.S. service providers." In a post on X, the body argued that EU companies, such as Accenture, DHL, Siemens, Spotify, and others, operate freely in the US.

"If the EU and EU Member States insist on continuing to restrict, limit, and deter the competitiveness of US service providers through discriminatory means, the United States will have no choice but to begin using every tool at its disposal to counter these unreasonable measures," the USTR wrote in a post. It added that US law allows the assessment of fees or restrictions on foreign services, pointing to other EU service providers such as Amadeus, Capgemini, Mistral, Publicis, and SAP.

The European Commission said that the USTR's accusations are without foundation, adding that its rules apply equally and fairly to all companies operating in the EU. The EC spokesperson Thomas Regnier said that the bloc’s regulations ensure a safe, fair, and level playing field in the EU, in line with the expectations of its citizens, adding that the enforcement is carried out without discrimination. Regnier concluded that the EU is implementing the commitments in the EU-US Joint Statement and remains engaged with Washington on trade issues.