[hunglee2]

EU regulatory apparatus is maybe only part of the EU which is operates without obsequiousness to the US; on the one hand, this is necessary assertion of sovereignty, on the other you fear for the wider collateral damage which will inevitably ensue. Trump gonna respond to this with an escalation for sure

[oaiey]

This is the fine after it got influenced by the political branch. It is a sign towards the companies that the law still bites and has to be adhered but reduced in this case to a level where it can be accepted by Google without major escalation in trade politics.

[flohofwoe]

> Trump gonna respond to this with an escalation for sure

This is basically the equivalent of the weekly nuclear annihilation threat from the Moscow direction ;)

Also see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%27s_final_warning

[hunglee2]

to be fair to Trump, he does respond to corporate lobby - Pichai just got to make a phone call and an EO will be rolling out in short order. This is not because Gogole controls Trump, it is simply that Trump is a nationalist and will defend US companies, he just needs to be reminded to do so

[yodsanklai]

> Trump is a nationalist and will defend US companies

Does it though? Companies have to corrupt him in various ways to get his favors. Pichai won't get that for free.

[inigyou]

Trump has tariffed Canada 50% allegedly because of wildfires. He acts randomly, your actions don't matter either way.

[louthy]

The Supreme Court has already said that blanket tariffs aren't allowed, so it's all bluster, as per usual.

[inigyou]

The current government has defied the supreme court many times. It can do this because the police force is controlled by the government, not by the supreme court, so it won't arrest the government.

[xorcist]

The private sector often complies in advance. Large logistics companies collected obviously illegal taxes long before they were challenged in court. It's not easy and the cost of doing business is already high, and not only in the US.

[tzs]

He’s using a different tariff authority this time than the one the Supreme Court took away.

[krisroadruck]

That's one read. For me it feels like practically (ASML, ARM, SAP not withstanding) their only "contribution" to tech is fines and exporting regulation. Sometimes this works out well (usb-c on iPhone), but most of the time it feels like if they want software, hardware, or the web to operate the way they want, perhaps they should try to actually produce some of it instead of being wholly reliant on others while also trying to dictate the terms. I also don't really feel like Trump will do anything, mainly because neither he, nor anyone else before him has any track record of attempting to block or slow EU overreach into US tech interests. Or maybe I'm just cranky and pessimistic.

[cleansy]

Google, Apple and co are free not to do business in the EU. There is no "overreach". It's a 450M pop market with a high median per-capita income. There are many reasons why the EU has a rather small tech industry of its own, high up among them that the EU does comparatively little to protect its market compared to China where most US tech companies don't even bother to enter anymore. In China, if a fine like this hits you, you are not allowed to do business anymore until it's either paid or revoked in court. So yeah, the EU is very lenient on all accounts.

[thesmtsolver2]

Isn't the median income per capita higher in the US. European companies are likewise free to pay tariffs or not do business.

EU does much more to protect its market compared to US.

EU was never a developing country like China. Most countries in EU benefited from centuries of exploitation of Asia, Africa and the Americas. They don't need protectionism.

It is immoral and ugly.

[imp0cat]

Is ASML really that insignificant?

[inigyou]

Yes, it's only one company out of the whole market. If ASML makes EU count as a good tech market then everywhere is a good tech market because it has at least one important tech company.