Bottom line: The EU insists on its sovereign right to regulate tech activities on its territory and signals swift countermeasures against unilateral US tariffs.
The European Commission responded on Monday to Donald Trump’s tariff threats against European tech rules, while an EU delegation arrived in Washington for talks on digital cooperation. The US accuses the EU of acting protectionist with its tech sovereignty plans.
A delegation led by Roberto Viola, the EU’s tech chief official, is in Washington through Wednesday for talks that the Commission characterizes as a “dialogue about a future dialogue”. The timing is fraught: Trump threatened new tariffs against EU countries on Friday if they impose digital taxes on American tech companies. The US State Department characterized Europe’s latest tech sovereignty initiatives as “protectionist” in a statement to POLITICO on Sunday.
EU Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier made clear on Monday: “The EU and its member states have the sovereign right to regulate any economic activities on their territory.” Should Washington follow up with “unilateral measures against such legitimate policies,” the EU will respond “swiftly and decisively.” For Chief Digital Officers, this is relevant because their regulatory capacity is now under direct pressure and countermeasures could destabilize the tech landscape in Europe in the short term.
The US argues that Europe’s new tech laws impose excessive burdens on American firms. Andrew Puzder, Trump’s ambassador to Brussels, already signaled in March that Washington wants to make European tech rules a negotiating issue. Instead, the State Department calls for “deregulation and cooperation on AI and chips”. In the background, the question of access to advanced AI models is also simmering: the US recently partially lifted export restrictions on Anthropic’s super-large models – a decision that intensified concerns in Europe about digital dependency.
According to a preparatory document reviewed by POLITICO, the planned discussion topics include artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, online protection of minors, connectivity, chip technology, and digital trade. Regnier emphasized that “the discussion is currently ongoing,” “which shows that both sides definitely want this.” Whether the EU raises the issue of access to AI models remains open.
Source: www.politico.eu · Published 29 June 2026
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