Almost a week after his meeting with NATO countries, Donald Trump has continued to criticize the European Union.
This time, he has attacked the EU over the record fine they have charged Google due to antitrust concerns. The EU has accused Google of abusing its power in the smartphone market via automatic installations and its attempts to promote the use of its search engine.
Google is set to pay $5.1 billion, and it is expected that the EU’s charges will have a lasting change on the market.
It is believed that Google has long used Android software to boost users’ utilization of its search engine. The fine is believed to be the largest ever imposed by Europe due to antitrust violations.
The EU argued that the substantial fine was targeted to match the gravity of the situation. Google is expected to appeal the fine, which will probably delay a definitive ruling for years.
President Trump was quick to denounce the fine on Twitter. He wrote:
“I told you so! The European Union just slapped a Five Billion Dollar fine on one of our great companies, Google. They truly have taken advantage of the U.S., but not for long!”
That tweet reiterated Trump’s constant opposition to the European Union’s actions. According to Trump, the EU has consistently forced the U.S. to contribute massive amounts of money to NATO’s military funds. Trump also accused the EU of engaging in unfair trade practices with the U.S., which caused him to implement tariffs on EU steel and aluminum.
French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed that the EU members of NATO only promised to continue their already existing commitments to increase spending– commitments which are set to expire in 2020. It was also reported by officials who accompanied Trump to the NATO meeting that he was not as optimistic during negotiations as he was when he spoke to the press.
On the other hand, many European countries have not allowed Trump’s abusive rhetoric to halt them or their economic progress. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, has brokered trade deals with both France and China.
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