Most casual EU observers have missed the connection between President Trump eliminating the U.S-Europe Marshall Plan via entirely new trade and tariff policies, and the aggregate financial collapse of the European Union.
Over four years (1948-1952), the United States provided $13.3 billion (equivalent to approximately $137 billion in 2025) directly to 17 Western European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The intent was to rebuild Europe after World War II. However, included in the plan was a later system of one-way tariffs, where EU Countries would high-tariff U.S. goods and the U.S. would not tariff EU goods imported.
The direct funding ended in 1952, but the indirect funding via tariffs never ended until President Donald J Trump triggered reciprocal tariffs against Europe thereby removing the one-way benefit. This created an immediate and growing problem for Europe – particularly noted in the EU industrial base.
Simultaneous to this EU tariff reset, President Trump levied tariffs against China. To offset the possibility of economic losses, and specifically to fund Beijing’s subsidies to impacted Chinese manufacturing, China stopped purchasing European industrial machines. [That’s the source of the picture above at the G7 in Canada]
This trade and tariff approach hit Europe twice as hard. First from American tariffs and second from diminished Chinese industrial purchasing. Immediately, Europe started looking for alternate sources of funds. That’s where the idea to tax American tech companies entered the discussion in Brussels. Today, President Trump addressed this directly.
TRUTH SOCIAL – “The European Union is at it again and, as usual, taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies! After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation. This brings the Google total to over 18 Billion Dollars!
This illegal and highly discriminatory practice started at these high levels during the first year of the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, but it’s not going to continue during the Trump Administration. The United States of America is not a “PIGGYBANK” for Europe, nor will we allow it to be! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of “ROBBING” American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.
The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about. The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment. Stay tuned!”
Keep in mind, all of this EU regulatory and compliance control is at the forefront of another element, the AI race.
In the USA we do not want a singular AI model to win support of the United States government and then end up with an AI regulatory system where the govt can start defining terms of “safety” to eliminate information adverse to the interests that regulate it. However, we can almost guarantee that Europe will select an approved singular AI model, predictably regulating it and taxing the use of it accordingly.
When rejecting Trump’s tariffs, SCOTUS said the President doesn’t have the power to tariff them but he does have the power to reject all their imports completely. Meaning their products can’t be sold in the U.S. at any price.
President Trump can order that today.
Do that for a while and the EU will do whatever President Trump says.
Is there a company that makes fainting couches on the stock exchange? Could be my ticket out!
La Von Der Leyen on hers…
La Von Der… Leyen’ on her Faintin’ Couch! ;~)
The ruling applied only to the emergency powers act. Tarrifs are allowed under at least two other mechanisms which PDJT is exploiting. But yes, shutting down imports 100% is another tool in his box.
He should just say he will do it and see their reactions, wait a couple of weeks and do it for 6 months. He could wipe them all out in one clean sweep.
The decision was limited to IEEPA. It did not strike down presidential tariff authority under other statutes (e.g., Section 232 national-security tariffs, Section 301, or provisions of the Trade Act of 1974 such as Section 122).
The dissent by Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh noted that Trump can reinstate many of the tariffs through other authorities – such as to respond to unfair trade practices. So he is probably on safe ground to retaliate against the Europeans’ unfair fines.
Oops. I see that Texas sub vet made this point.
From the outset of these fines against US companies I wished the companies had just said to the EU “screw you” and fully removed access to ALL the services. Wouldn’t it be special for the EU bureaucrats to wake up and find none of their tech created by Apple and Google, etc worked? No announcement, no warning, just nothing works.
All iPhones and androids just stopped working one morning. Wouldn’t that be a hoot to watch
Unfortunately, the companies are always thinking in quarter to quarter worldview… not what is right, what is moral and not what the long term benefits would be.
They rework the budgets, look at their profit margins and net returns, file the lawsuits, create delays, force concessions and chalk it up to the cost of doing business.
They would only pull out if the cost of doing business exceeded their budgeted return on the capex relative to other capex deployment.
THIS.
….and the reluctance to lose the vast database of user info.
How much of India’s AI competitiveness is due to the US H1-b visa program? Why you may ask? The following:
Satya Nadella joined Microsoft on an H-1B visa in 1992 and rose through the ranks to become CEO in 2014. Like Amazon Andy, he sponsors thousands of H-1Bs every year while firing American workers. He has announced plans to invest $20 billion in India and will further grow its 22,000 staff there. To top it all off, he appointed Asha Sharma to run XBOX with no gaming experience. She recently fired 3,200 Americans to make way for more of their compatriots. The nepotism is glaring.
Mark Zuckerberg like his peers, he is filing for thousands of H-1Bs every year while cutting his American workforce. He has established a multi-billion dollar partnership with Reliance Industries, led by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani.
IBM’s Arvind Krishna was hired on an H-1B that year and became CEO in 2020. Since then, he has filed for 10,000+ H-1Bs. 100,000 of IBM’s 300,000 employees are now based in India. Revenue has fallen by ~15% during his tenure and IBM is no longer in the top 50 largest corporations.
Sundar Pichai was hired by Google in 2004 on an H-1B and became CEO in 2015 following a meteoric rise. Under his leadership in a decade, Google has applied for 50,000+ visas. He fired 10,000+ Americans in 2023 while global headcount grew. Google India now has 30,000+ employees. Sundar has pledged $10 billion for Google’s India Digitization Fund as well as $15 billion for AI and data center infrastructure.
Malaysian-born Lip-Bu Tan took over last year. He is planning ~25,000 job cuts, representing a quarter of the dwindling workforce. Yet Intel has routinely filed for thousands of visas every year and continues to do so.
Before he was appointed Intel CEO, Tan invested ~$200 million into CCP businesses including 8 tied to the People’s Liberation Army. In a strange twist, Trump went from calling out Tan about this to taking a 10% stake in Intel due to its critical $3 billion Department of Defense contract. Tough to trust the plan here, but let’s monitor the situation.
There are many more who like these companies are taking American technology and setting up operations in India. On the one hand if successful it could slow the H1-b visa fraud in the US (doubtful) but on the other hand one could bet US technology from these companies can and more likely will be compromised.
This is simply a mob-styled shakedown of U.S. businesses by the EU. Treat it like one. Make them pay dearly for this.
I say we withdraw from NATO and let the bad actors have their way with these useless so called allies.
Sent Putin a message like this.
You can have them if you want.
The EU is not our friend. They are enemies of the United States and of President Trump.
Please Mr. President, tariff Europe into bankruptcy. Crush them like the annoying little bugs that they are.
Just had a horrible thought, can our military supply be depleted to the extent that the EU would join together and target us???
It may be a stupid question, still learning here.
🇺🇸✝️
“the EU would join together and target us???”
Target us with what?
Whatever the specific tariff or other trade retaliation that is selected, it should be in at least the amount of the fines the EU has decided to impose plus an administrative fee to cover the cost of reimbursing the U.S. company for the unjust fine they had to pay. Make it so the Europeans themselves effectively pay the fines and not the U.S. companies that they are targeting, with the one condition that by accepting reimbursement they have not and will not give in on any non-monetary demands on their product that the EU might require.
“Europe started looking for alternate sources of funds. That’s where the idea to tax American tech companies entered the discussion in Brussels.”
Freeloaders are inherently lazy by nature, hence them looking for ways to confiscate wealth rather than earn it legitimately.