On April 10, Bloomberg reported that EU digital affairs chief Henna Verkunen said that the EU’s regulation of digital platforms such as X and Meta should not be seen as a barrier to trade with the United States. “We don’t want a trade war because we don’t see anyone benefiting from it,” Verkunen said. Digital rules and trade barriers are “different things” because “European digital rules are the same for everyone.”


Henna Verkunin

U.S. President Trump launched a global trade war last week, including imposing 20% ​​tariffs on the European Union. He has said he would respond with tough punitive measures following any "unreasonable" fines affecting U.S. companies. Trump on Wednesday suspended higher reciprocal tariffs for 90 days after stocks fell and several governments imposed heavier tariffs on U.S. products. Hours earlier, Europe approved new tariffs on $23.2 billion in U.S. exports in response to previous U.S. tariffs on metals.

The EU has launched multiple investigations into the conduct of U.S. online platforms, including X. Verkunen said dialogue is ongoing between the two sides during the investigation and some tech platforms are changing their behavior to comply.

EU scrutiny of Musk's X platform has intensified in recent months as the world's richest man has begun supporting far-right politicians such as Alice Weidel, the Alternative for Germany's chancellor candidate. The EU has been investigating X under the Digital Services Act since December 2023. Meta and Apple also face investigations from European regulators, including under the Digital Markets Act, the EU's digital dominance law.