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The European Commission’s upcoming fines on violators of the EU’s new gatekeeping rules are not taxes or tariffs, the commission’s new competition chief said, pushing back on criticism by Trump administration officials.
“It is not related at all to any taxation or tariff,” Teresa Ribera said of potential fines under the Digital Markets Act. We are bound by the law. We will apply the law.”
Ribera’s comments came during a news conference Thursday with reporters in Washington during her first visit to the US Capitol since taking over as the EU’s competition chief.
Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are set to be hit with fines from EU regulators under the DMA as soon as next week, but the penalties are expected to be modest as the EU seeks to avoid inflaming tensions with US President Donald Trump, who has warned he’d strike back with heavy tariffs following any “disproportionate” penalties against American tech firms, Bloomberg previously reported.
Ribera said she met for the first time with Trump’s Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson and Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Gail Slater. She said that although there were no disagreements raised during those meetings, “there’s a kind of contradiction” with American authorities.
The Americans “say that they want to protect digital markets,” Ribera said. “At the same time, they contest the Digital Markets Act being adopted by the European Union that intends to respond to these demands.”
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