Issue #5 - August 29, 2025

Could the US reopen the tariffs talks over EU tech regulations?

Only some weeks after a tariff deal was agreed upon between the US and the EU, that doubts have started to emerge over the question of how the US will interpret the impact of current EU tech regulations such as GDPR, DSA (Digital Services Act) and DMA (digital Markets Act) over US Tech companies and whether the US administration will consider them as a form of indirect levy. Three recent developments signal that the discussion might reopen soon. The first is the delay of the final draft of the EU-US tariff agreement. According to the FT, "EU officials said disagreements over language relating to "non-tariff barriers" — which the US has previously said includes the bloc's ambitious digital rules — are among reasons for the hold-up of the joint statement." The second is a post by Trump on Truth Social on August 25 where he argues "with this TRUTH, I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional Tariffs on that Country's Exports to the U.S.A., and institute Export restrictions on our Highly Protected Technology and Chips." Lastly, a Reuters article of August 26 reports that the US administration is particularly focused on the DSA, the landmark EU regulation focused on online content. According to the article, "Trump administration has instructed U.S. diplomats in Europe to launch a lobbying campaign to build opposition to the Digital Services Act in an effort to have it amended or repealed". The reactions in the EU have already been strong. Teresa Ribera, the EU Commissioner for competition has said that the EU must be prepared to walk away from a trade deal with the US if Donald Trump acts on his threats to target the bloc unless it waters down its digital legislation. The new US administration has repeatedly criticised the EU efforts to regulate content online considering it censorship and attacks against freedom of speech. In his speech given at the AI Paris Summit in February, US VP JD Vance warned the international audience by saying "The Trump administration is troubled by reports that some foreign governments are considering tightening the screws on US tech companies with international footprints. America cannot and will not accept that, and we think it's a terrible mistake not just for the United States of America but for your own countries."

What I have been reading

The boss of SAP on Europe's botched approach to digital sovereignty, The Economist, Aug 25th 2025 In an op-ed, Christian Klein, SAP's CEO, argues that Europe should build "digital sovereignty founded on both self-determination and mutual dependencies. True sovereignty is the ability to always maintain control of one's data and assets while deploying the best available technologies—regardless of their origin—on one's own terms". To do so, he acknowledges that for the most sensitive public data, such as in defence or health care, a fully isolated cloud should be considered, but not necessarily for other industries: "the priority here should be ensuring the data remain in Europe, protected by high cybersecurity standards and customer-managed encryption. Klein also takes advantage of the op-ed to criticise EU tech regulation. He considers the Data Act as overreaching and says the AI Act should be paused.

Europe is selling its soul to Trump, Financial Times, August 25th 2025 In this thought provoking piece, FT Journalist Martin Sandbu argues that by accepting the way Trump negotiates deals, by not speaking the truth, EU leaders are putting themselves in a lot of trouble. "Europe is risking its political soul. It has put itself in a situation in which leaders cannot say publicly what they are actually trying to do. That is a recipe for distrust and a poison for democracy — and European liberal democracy in particular." He opposes the attitude of EU leaders with the one of Zelensky at the Oval office in February, saying that by speaking the truth, Zelensky hasn't put himself in a worse situation at all, concluding that EU leaders should urgently adopt the same attitude.