Photo Credit: Alexandre Lallemand
The Trump administration says it could go after Spotify and other European-based services if the EU doesn’t back off regarding its regulation of US technology companies.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday posted a statement to social media accusing European regulators of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives against U.S. service providers.
The Trump administration has issued an ultimatum should these alleged practices continue, threatening to impose fees and restrictions on European companies operating in the American market. That could spell trouble for European-based services operating in the U.S., which were specifically called out by name, including Spotify.
“If the EU and EU member states insist on continuing to restrict, limit, and deter the competitiveness of U.S. 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.
But it wasn’t just a vague threat from the Trump administration. The list of major European corporations that could face retaliatory measures includes shipping logistics giant DHL, consulting firm Accenture, industrial manufacturer Siemens, software company SAP, artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI, and music streaming platform Spotify.
According to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, these European companies have long benefitted from open access to the United States economy—a privilege he asserts has not been reciprocated.
“EU service providers have been able to operate freely in the United States for decades, benefitting from access to our market and consumers on a level playing field,” wrote Greer, who further noted that U.S. tech companies “provide substantial free services to EU citizens and reliable enterprise services to EU companies,” while supporting “millions of jobs and more than $100 billion in direct investment in Europe.”
The apparent meltdown stems from the European Union’s landmark frameworks: the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). Both laws were designed to curb the dominance of “gatekeeper” platforms while ensuring online safety—but U.S. officials see them as tools of economic suppression aimed directly at U.S. companies.
The enforcement of these laws has led to significant penalties for American corporations, including Google, Apple, Meta, and X (formerly Twitter). Over the summer, Trump said he would impose “substantial tariffs and export restrictions” against nations that hinder U.S. tech companies.
But European officials have dismissed the notion of any bias. According to Thomas Regnier, a spokesperson for the European Commission, the regulations “apply equally and fairly to all companies operating in the EU.”
Further, Regnier said these measures were essential for consumer protection, and that the EU would “persist in enforcing our rules fairly and without bias” to prevent the digital economy from becoming a “Wild West.”
