TOULON, France, Aug 29 – In a firm and unified stance, France and Germany on Friday defended Europe’s sovereign right to regulate its digital landscape and enact legislation tailored to its values and interests, following renewed criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump over the European Union’s digital policies. The European leaders made it clear that any attempt by the United States to exert pressure or influence over EU lawmaking would be met with reciprocal measures.
President Trump, earlier in the week, intensified his ongoing opposition to the EU’s approach toward regulating digital services by threatening to impose additional tariffs on all countries implementing what he described as “digital taxes, legislation, or regulations.” He alleged that such measures were deliberately crafted to disadvantage or discriminate against American technology firms, framing them as protectionist and unfair to U.S. business interests.
At a joint press conference held in Toulon, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a sharp rebuttal to Trump’s remarks, underscoring that the right to determine tax policy and regulatory frameworks belongs exclusively to national governments and the European Parliament. He stressed that Europe would not yield to foreign interference in its democratic legislative process.
“Matters of taxation and regulation are decided by our elected institutions—our national parliaments and the European Parliament,” Macron declared. “We will never accept external forces dictating how we legislate. Should the United States choose to escalate this through coercive means, Europe will respond in kind.”
Macron pointed to the EU’s newly adopted anti-coercion instrument, a legal mechanism that enables the bloc to retaliate against countries that attempt to manipulate or intimidate the EU into altering its policy decisions. He emphasized that the European Union would not hesitate to employ this tool should the situation demand it.
The dispute is rooted in the EU’s recent adoption of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA)—two landmark pieces of legislation designed to ensure fair competition in the digital marketplace and to create a safer online environment by compelling large tech platforms to better police illegal or harmful content. These regulations are widely viewed as targeting the dominance of major U.S.-based tech giants such as Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, although EU officials maintain the laws are universal in scope and apply equally to all firms operating within the European market.
Standing alongside Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz echoed France’s sentiment, stating that the European Union’s digital regulations were a clear reflection of its political and economic sovereignty. He emphasized that the EU was acting out of its own strategic interest, not out of hostility toward the United States or its corporations.
“I made it clear to President Trump that the way we govern our digital markets is a matter of sovereignty,” Merz said. “We are doing this because it serves the interests of our citizens and our economies. We cannot and will not accept any attempt to challenge or undermine that.”
Earlier in the week, the European Commission also responded to Trump’s statements, rejecting the accusation that the EU was singling out U.S. companies. A spokesperson clarified that the DMA and DSA are designed to apply equally to all platforms, regardless of their country of origin, as long as they operate within the European Union.
“The regulation of economic activity within the EU is a sovereign right of the Union and its member states,” the spokesperson said. “These rules are based on transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. There is no targeting of U.S. firms.”
As tensions grow between Washington and Brussels over the future of digital governance, Friday’s statements from Macron and Merz highlight a deepening rift between the two global powers. The EU’s leaders appear united in their resolve to chart an independent course for regulating the digital economy, even at the risk of provoking a broader trade conflict with the United States.
