The European Commission and European Parliament may be trying to undermine President Donald Trump’s trade agenda before the president arrives for his much-anticipated trip to Davos, Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF).
According to a leaked document reviewed by the Washington Reporter, some in the EU are trying to change the already controversial Digital Networks Act (DNA) to include “network usage fees,” which have been long-opposed by many in the Trump administration; the Trump administration has crafted frameworks for EU trade deals that specifically ban the EU from implementing network usage fees.
Should the EU finalize these changes, they would likely violate the landmark trade deal struck by the U.S. and EU in August, the framework of which obligated both sides to “commit to address unjustified digital trade barriers. In that respect, The European Union confirms that it will not adopt or maintain network usage fees.”
In the past, Trump has noted that the “EU makes more from fines on US tech, than tax from ALL of public European tech. In 2024, EU fined US tech companies €3.8B meanwhile public interest tech companies paid only €3.2B in income tax…This is very unfair for our Tech Companies, and for the United States of America!”
This potential EU escalation comes as Trump and his team are planning to travel to Davos where they will confront a variety of issues, ranging from trade to Greenland’s status. Among other topics, the president’s speech at the WEF could address the regulations standing in the way of a stronger U.S.-EU economic relationship — these regulations have long preoccupied Trump, whose recent Truth Social post highlighting the imbalance suggests this issue will be towards the top of the list for the Trump team during its Europe trip.
Trump’s potential pick to be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Hassett, recently noted that “You can expect that countries that have [digital service taxes]…are going to be facing the wrath of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.”
The Digital Services Tax is another form of EU regulation that senior Trump administration officials have cautioned against. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified to Congress that “other countries do pull substantial revenues out the U.S. Treasury and our great internet companies, which are unique to the U.S…This digital service tax was especially egregious…It is a centerpiece of our tariff negations…We’re pushing back on tariffs, non-tariff measures, currency manipulation, government subsidies, and unfair taxation and fines such as the EU does on the same companies.”
The Trump administration’s moves would likely be a boon to American telecoms companies, which could suffer from any EU regulations that create new private rights of action against them.
Organizations like the EU-US Forum expressed concern about potential EU plans, noting that “the European Commission and European Parliament are trying to secretly create a back door that would allow them to adopt network usage fees, targeting U.S. companies. This is in direct violation of the EU-US trade deal, agreed to by the European Commission and negotiated by President Trump.”
That concern was echoed by Public Policy Solutions, which noted that that the “EU is plowing forward with even further bureaucratic meddling.” Conservatives in America, like Steve Forbes and Matt Whitlock, cautioned that the potential moves by the EU represent “alarming double-dealing from the Europeans.” Whitlock noted that “at every possible opportunity the Europeans are trying to slip in
weird taxes, fees, or penalties to try and grift off American companies. They do a lot of pearl-clutching over Trump but behind the scenes they’re working hard to poison the relationship.”