The Trump administration warned it may impose fees and restrictions on European companies operating in the US, including Spotify, if the European Union continues enforcing “discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives” against American service providers.
The Office of the US Trade Representative issued the threat earlier this week, naming nine European companies that could face retaliation: Swedish music streaming giant Spotify, consulting firm Accenture, Madrid-based IT firm Amadeus, French IT firm Capgemini, German multinational logistics firm DHL, French AI company Mistral, French ad agency Publicis, German software company SAP and German automation company Siemens.
The USTR’s office wrote on social media: “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.”
“Should responsive measures be necessary, US law permits the assessment of fees or restrictions on foreign services, among other actions. The United States will take a similar approach to other countries that pursue an EU-style strategy in this area.”
The office said European service providers have operated freely in the US for decades, and that American companies provide “free” services to EU citizens and companies, and support “millions of jobs and more than $100 billion in direct investment.”
“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.”
Office of the US Trade Representative
The USTR said Spotify and the eight other firms it singled out have “enjoyed this expansive market access” in the US for decades.
The warning comes over a week after the EU imposed a fine of EUR €120 million ($141 million) on Elon Musk’s X, citing its breaches of the bloc’s Digital Services Act. The European Commission said X’s violations include the “deceptive design” of its “blue checkmark” for verified accounts, as well as its alleged failure to provide access to public data for researchers.
Earlier this year, the European Commission also fined tech giants Apple and Meta for violations of the Digital Market Act. Apple was fined EUR €500 million ($587m) for allegedly preventing developers from informing customers of alternative offers outside the App Store, while Meta was slapped with a EUR €200 million ($235m) fine, citing the non-compliance of its “consent or pay” advertising model.
Last year, before it was notified of the fine, Apple announced a policy change in the EU, allowing app developers to communicate with their customers outside of its App Store. Previously, Apple allowed developers to use “link-outs” only, meaning apps could include a link that redirected customers to a web page where contracts could be finalized.
However, Apple’s revised compliance plan was slammed by Spotify and Fortnite developer Epic Games, arguing that it’s “confusing,” “illegal,” and ultimately fails to address the core issues raised by the landmark legislation.
“Should responsive measures be necessary, US law permits the assessment of fees or restrictions on foreign services, among other actions. The United States will take a similar approach to other countries that pursue an EU-style strategy in this area.”
Office of the US Trade Representative
Back in August, Trump signaled his intention to protect US tech firms, threatening “substantial additional tariffs” and “export restrictions” against countries that “harm or discriminate” US tech firms.
Trump’s statement came just days after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg raised concerns about the EU’s planned taxes on digital companies. Bloomberg reported in August, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Meta founder visited Trump to discuss the threat of the EU’s digital service taxes.
However, a spokesman for the European Commission rejected claims of bias in the EU’s digital regulations. Thomas Regnier told Barron’s: “As we have made clear many times, our rules apply equally and fairly to all companies operating in the EU.”
“We will continue to enforce our rules fairly, and without discrimination,” he added.
Aside from the US tech firms, the EU has also investigated TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, over violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Following a probe that started in February of last year, the EU earlier this month said it secured TikTok’s commitment to comply with the DSA.
Music Business Worldwide
