EU Set To Concede Dependence On US Tech As Trump Tensions Flare
The size of digital and computing services in the US and Asia means the bloc can’t only rely on its own capabilities, according to a European Commission draft international digital strategy.
The European Union is set to concede it can’t break free from the power of US technology giants, in a move that could de-escalate a trade row with President Donald Trump.
The size of digital and computing services in the US and Asia means the bloc can’t only rely on its own capabilities, according to a European Commission draft international digital strategy seen by Bloomberg News. The document, dated April 9, highlighted foreign companies’ role in cybersecurity and developing artificial intelligence.
“The network effects that allowed online platforms to grow to unprecedented size are being replicated in the race to dominate artificial intelligence,” the document reads. “This means decoupling is unrealistic and cooperation will remain significant.”
A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment. Politico reported on the strategy earlier.
The concession comes as US tech firms including Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. have sought to curry favor with the Trump administration amid rising trade tensions. Technology is a key flash point, with the EU seeking to establish itself as the world’s chief digital rule enforcer. Trump has lambasted the bloc’s tech regulations and fines as unfairly targeting US companies.
The EU has made offers to the US to attempt to defuse tensions, the bloc’s commissioner for international partnerships Jozef Sikela said on Tuesday, without elaborating.
Apple and Meta were hit with relatively modest fines last week for violating the bloc’s antitrust rules after Trump warned of retaliation, in a sign the EU may be softening its position on tech companies.
Meta spent the most it ever had on federal lobbying early this year as its founder Mark Zuckerberg, who recently purchased a sprawling residence in Washington, has embarked on an effort to woo the Trump administration.
Apple announced domestic spending and hiring plans earlier this year as it sought refuge from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. Phones were later granted a temporary exemption from the levies.
After Trump’s return to the presidency, a number of European policymakers and economists pushed to reduce dependence on US tech. The proposals, under the term “EuroStack,” lay out plans for Europe to develop chips, cloud-computing and AI models, and initiate “buy European” procurement rules.
However, Europe has struggled previously to create technology companies that can compete with US and Chinese rivals.
The bloc’s digital rules have come under increasing fire from Silicon Valley and the White House. The Trump administration recently applied more pressure on the EU to ditch its rules overseeing AI.
The draft document said the EU will “continue to promote” the principles behind its digital policies, but added that internet governance “will need to evolve in the face of new geopolitical challenges.”
The commission, which is the EU’s executive arm, said that the bloc should focus on cooperating with partner countries in four tech sectors: semiconductors, quantum computing, AI and 6G telecommunications networks.
