German Socialist MEP Bernd Lange, the European Parliament's trade chief, told Euronews that he hopes the new US tariffs will be challenged in US courts and said that targeting the EU over forced labour was "crazy" given its stringent regulations.
German Socialist MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, told Euronews that the EU should brace for further action from the US following the €890 million fine imposed on Google by the European Commission on Thursday.
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Tensions escalated across the Atlantic after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the fine was "unreasonable" and created "uncertainty" for US-EU trade.
Brussels imposed the fine on the tech giant under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is designed to curb Big Tech's dominance in the EU's digital markets and has been a repeated target of US criticism since Donald Trump's return to the White House.
“We have the tariff for the deal of Scotland and we have some regulation where everybody, not only US companies but also Europeans or whatever companies, has to respect it,” Lange said.
He added that both the DMA and the Digital Services Act (DSA) remain in Washington's crosshairs and warned that the EU should prepare for retaliation.
“To be honest, I expect that some action will come,” he said.
Imposing tariffs over forced labour is 'crazy'
The EU and the US have been bound since July 2025 by a trade deal struck in Scotland that imposes 15% US duties on EU goods while removing EU tariffs on US products.
Brussels, which hopes the deal will shield European businesses from Washington's erratic decisions and tariff threats, had expected the US to announce a new tariff regime to replace the current one expiring on Friday and was prepared to accept it as long as it did not exceed the 15% cap.
Washington unveiled the new regime on Thursday, targeting trading partners around the world, including the EU, over forced labour.
According to Lange, the fact that the US targeted the EU over forced labour is "crazy".
“We have a wonderful legislation, even stronger than the United States has,” he said.
However, he believes the new tariffs could eventually be challenged before US courts and hopes trade policy will return to the hands of Congress.
“I guess the courts in the United States will judge about that,” Lange said, adding: “I hope that after the midterms in November, the Congress will take over a little bit more like it is written down in the Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Paragraph 8, that trade policy is in the hands of the Congress.”
“I hope this will give us also additional stability.”