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Former EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said Europe must stick to digital rules as the US seeks easing of enforcement of landmark legislation in exchange for tariff relief.
European and U.S. officials met in Brussels on Monday for the first time since the EU agreed to a deal in July that imposed 15% tariffs on European goods, pledging to buy energy, weapons and invest mainly in the United States.
The Trump administration is currently seeking flexible implementation of EU digital rules for big tech companies in exchange for relief in key sectors such as steel and aluminum, which currently face 50% tariffs. The EU wants better quotas and better conditions.
Mr Vestager said the EU must comply with the landmark legislation passed during his term: the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act.
“This is not strange,” she told Euronews. “This is not against anyone. This is normal. This is what you would ask in a normal market.”
“We promised Europeans that they can use digital services safely,” she added.
Vestager, who served as EU commissioner from 2014 to 2024, gained international fame by taking on big tech giants and imposing antitrust fines on Google, Apple, Meta and Amazon. That attitude once earned her the nickname “Tax Man” by Donald Trump.
She also played a central role in bringing into force the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark regulation aimed at curbing the power of the biggest online platforms, which some in Washington see as an attack on U.S. economic interests.
“We promised Europeans that they would have safe access to services for their mental health and democracy, and of course keeping promises is at the heart of democracy,” Vestager told Euronews.
European officials told Euronews after Monday’s US-EU talks that steel, aluminum and digital are two separate documents and should be treated as such.
US urges Europe to ease digital rules to ease tariffs
EU Trade Representative Maroš Šefčović, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamison Greer met on Monday.
Lutnick, a close ally of President Donald Trump who negotiated a trade deal with the EU that introduced 15% tariffs on his behalf over the summer, said European countries should reevaluate how they implement key digital regulation policies if they want further tariff relief.
Lutnick did not call for the rules to be repealed, but said the way they were applied should be “more balanced” for U.S. tech companies.
The city of Brussels is desperately seeking a reduction in the 50% tariffs imposed on European aluminum and steel by the Trump administration in June under industry pressure.
He told reporters in Brussels that the United States wants the EU to “repeal these rules but find a balanced approach that works for us.” “Then we work with them to address steel and aluminum issues.”
Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Guria also met with EU Technical Commissioner Hena Virkunen, who in a statement emphasized the importance of two landmark digital regulations applicable in the EU: the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). Comments suggest the commission is not prepared to pour any more water on it for the time being.
To counter the US offensive on the digital law, EU Trade Commissioner Šefčović said the EU was working hard to explain the law to the US and stressed that no discriminatory practices were applied to US companies. He insisted that the rules are the same for everyone operating in the EU single market, regardless of their origin.
