US lawmakers urge Trump to counter EU digital rules on tech

Sixteen members of Congress have asked President Donald Trump to respond to European Union digital rules they say discriminate against US technology companies, including by considering fees or restrictions on European businesses operating in the United States. The request raises pressure in a transatlantic dispute over market access, cloud computing and platform regulation.

Rep. Pat Harrigan of North Carolina said Tuesday in a post on X that he joined the letter urging Trump to use “every available tool” against what he described as the EU’s treatment of American technology companies. Harrigan wrote that Europe should not be able to penalize American innovation while continuing to expect full access to the US market.

The lawmakers focused on the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the bloc’s competition rulebook for large online platforms. A threshold-based regime identifies companies subject to added obligations by reference to measures such as scale or market position. In the letter, the signers said those thresholds mainly capture US technology groups while leaving European and Chinese rivals outside the same level of scrutiny.

The letter said the EU is preparing to extend its interpretation of the Digital Markets Act to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. It also said the bloc is preparing what the lawmakers described as the largest fine yet under the DMA against Google, despite what they characterized as the company’s attempts to comply with the law.

The signers also objected to DMA “specification proceedings” involving US operating systems. According to the letter, those proceedings could damage intellectual property rights, privacy and security by forcing American companies to weaken products, hand over proprietary technology, or open sensitive systems and platforms to competitors.

The letter also cited the EU’s proposed Cloud & AI Development Act. The lawmakers said that proposal would block American companies from competing for parts of the EU public-sector cloud and artificial intelligence market.

The lawmakers urged Trump to make clear that European access to the US market is not unconditional. If the EU does not quickly address the concerns raised in the letter, they encouraged the president to consider imposing fees or restrictions on European companies operating in the United States.

The dispute reflects a broader divide between Washington critics of EU technology regulation and Brussels officials who have defended the bloc’s approach. In August, after Trump said EU digital rules unfairly targeted American technology firms, the EU responded that its regulations are designed to apply broadly to companies doing business in the bloc.

This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.