Trump blasts EU over tech fines

Technology

The Big Story

Trump slams EU for Apple, Google fines and lawsuits

President Trump on Thursday called the European Union “nasty” while sitting alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Trump complained about the steep tariff on U.S.-made cars in Europe and a Court of Justice of the European Union decision in September that required tech giants Apple and Google to pay billions in fines over antitrust issues.

“We sell no cars to Europe, I mean, virtually no cars, and they sell millions of car to us. They don’t take our agriculture. We take their agriculture — it’s like a one way street with them. The European Union is very, very nasty,” Trump said from the Oval Office.

“They sue our companies," the president continued. "Apple was forced to pay $16 billion on a case that … like my cases that I won. They shouldn’t have been even cases, but we felt they had no case, and they ended up having an extremely favorable judge and decision."

"But they’re suing Google, they’re suing Facebook, they’re suing all of these companies, and they’re taking billions of dollars out of American companies," the president continued.

Trump railed against the EU earlier Thursday, when he threatened to put a hefty 200 percent tariff on wine, Champagne and other alcohol coming in from Europe if they don’t remove a tariff on whiskey.

A trade war with Europe was escalated Wednesday when Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect, leading the EU to swiftly retaliate with a two-step approach.

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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Essential Reads

How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:

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Google is pushing back against other major technology companies’ efforts to put the responsibility of age verification on the app stores, arguing the onus is on both the stores and developers to boost children’s safety. In a blog post published Wednesday, Google pushed back against what it called “concerning legislation” in Utah, which became the first state in the country to pass a bill requiring app …

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Oversight Democrats launch review of crypto reserve ‘poised to enrich’ Trump

House Oversight Democrats are encouraging President Trump to abandon his plans for a crypto reserve, calling it a strategy to enrich himself at taxpayer expense. The reserve, announced by Trump last week as both a strategic bitcoin reserve and “digital asset stockpile” for other forms of digital currency, would be akin to other reserves and stockpiles managed by the government, such as those for gasoline, food, and gold. But …

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Arbitrator sides with Meta in bid to halt sales of ex-employee’s memoir

An arbitrator has sided with Meta in its case against a former employee who made a series of misconduct allegations about the Facebook and Instagram parent company in a memoir published this week. The memoir, “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism” by Sarah Wynn-Williams, was published Tuesday. It details claims of sexual harassment and incomplete statements by Meta executives to Congress …

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Watchdog requests probe into FAA business with Musk’s Starlink

A watchdog group has asked the Transportation Department’s inspector general to investigate whether the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) business with Elon Musk’s Starlink violates conflict of interest laws. The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) argued in a letter to the inspector general Thursday that evidence suggesting Musk “has blatantly and improperly influenced” the FAA’s work with Starlink warrants an investigation. …

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The Refresh

News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:

OpenAI calls DeepSeek 'state-controlled,' calls for bans on 'PRC-produced' models (TechCrunch)
Oracle is leading contender to help run TikTok in new deal (The Information)

Crypto Corner

Stablecoin framework one step closer to finish line

Welcome to Crypto Corner, a new feature in The Hill's Technology newsletter focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.

Stablecoin legislation is one step closer to the finish line, after the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Sen. Bill Hagerty's (R-Tenn.) GENIUS Act on Thursday.

The legislation, which aims to create a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, garnered support from five Democrats and all 13 Republicans on the panel. It next heads to the Senate floor for consideration.

“Today’s historic passage of the GENIUS Act — the first digital asset legislation to advance in the Senate — is a step forward in ensuring stablecoins are safe and reliable tools in the financial system,” Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said in a statement.

The GENIUS Act's advancement marks a key win for the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers, who have set their sights on quickly passing stablecoin and cryptocurrency market structure legislation this Congress.

President Trump has embraced crypto in his second term, inviting industry leaders to the White House last week and emphasizing his administration's work to "end the federal bureaucracy war on crypto."

In Other News

Branch out with other reads on The Hill:

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What Others are Reading

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Rep. Raúl Grijalva dies at 77

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), a more than two-decade veteran of the House who rose to high levels of power in the Democratic Caucus, died on Thursday. … Read more

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Senate Democrats say privately that they will not allow the government to shut down Saturday, despite growing pressure from activists and liberal lawmakers … Read more

What Others are Reading

Opinion related to tech submitted to The Hill:

Cuts to NASA’s budget could derail America’s Mars ambitions

You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!

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