A top European Union regulator accused the United States of using tariff threats to bully the bloc into revising its digital rules, heightening a trans-Atlantic clash as trade talks reached a sensitive phase.
Europe's top antitrust regulator accused the United States of using trade leverage to weaken the European Union's digital rulebook, calling the tactic "blackmail" and signaling a tougher line inside the European Commission as Washington seeks concessions tied to steel and aluminum tariffs.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday in Brussels that the United States could modify its tariff posture if the EU reconsidered its digital laws.
"If they can come up with a balanced approach [to technology regulation], then we will, together with them, handle the steel and aluminum issues and bring that on together," Lutnick told reporters Monday.
European officials interpreted his remarks as targeting the bloc's flagship regulations, including the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, which largely affect major American technology firms.
"It is blackmail," said Teresa Ribera, the Spanish commissioner who serves as the commission's executive vice president. "[This] being their intention does not mean that we accept that kind of blackmail."
Ribera said the EU's digital rulebook should not be part of trade negotiations, adding that President Donald Trump's team wants to revise the framework trade agreement he reached with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a July meeting in Scotland.
Washington views the Digital Markets Act as discriminatory because it regulates large platforms like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. It also objects to the Digital Services Act's rules on illegal speech, seeing them as restrictions on social networks such as Elon Musk's X.
Ribera said EU standards reflect sovereignty and should remain outside trade bargaining.
"It is their problem. It is their regulation and their sovereignty. So it is the case here," she said of the United States.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen echoed Ribera's view, telling American officials that "the European digital rulebook is not up for negotiation."
Still, unity inside the bloc is beginning to fray.
Lutnick said some EU ministers appear more open to revisiting digital rules.
Germany's Katherina Reiche backed a loosening of both the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, saying her country wants more room to compete in the digital sector.
The dispute unfolds as the United States campaigns globally to soften foreign digital laws.
South Korea recently rolled back its proposed competition regime under pressure from the Trump administration.
With Washington pressing for changes and EU members breaking ranks, a central question emerging in Brussels is whether the Digital Markets Act can withstand prolonged trade conflict.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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