EU fines Google 890 million euros as US warns on trade ties

The European Union fined Google a total of 890 million euros, about $1 billion, on 23 July 2026, in a competition decision that could increase tensions with the United States.

The EU imposed a 460 million euro fine on the US technology company for illegally favouring its own services, including Google Flights and Google Hotels, over rivals in search results. It also imposed a 430 million euro fine because, the European Commission said, Google barred app developers from showing consumers free offers outside the Google Play store.

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the decision was intended to ensure more competition and allow other companies to innovate. A senior EU official said Google still favours its own services, while the second fine covers only the period from March 2024 to December 2025.

Google rejected the EU's approach. Kent Walker said in a company statement that the enforcement was dismantling safety protections on Google Play and that regulation should improve products rather than make them worse.

The fines came shortly before the first anniversary of a tariff deal between Washington and Brussels that had eased trade tensions. The administration of President Donald Trump has accused Brussels of targeting US technology companies and has threatened retaliatory tariffs. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the fines weakened hopes for smoother trade ties and posed what he called a real risk to continued transatlantic trade stability.

The penalties are the largest yet against one company under the EU Digital Markets Act, the bloc's technology competition law. The DMA took effect in 2024 and allows fines of up to 10 percent of a company's global turnover for violations. An EU official said the Google penalties amount to 0.22 percent of the company's turnover. The Commission warned that the fines could increase through periodic penalty payments if Google does not comply within 60 days.

EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said the best products should succeed because they are better, not because they are owned by the company running the search engine.

Google has previously faced large EU penalties. Between 2017 and 2019, Brussels imposed fines totaling 8.2 billion euros on the company. In September 2025, the EU imposed a separate 2.95 billion euro fine under different antitrust rules, a move that prompted Trump to threaten retaliation. In 2025, the EU also fined Meta 200 million euros and Apple 500 million euros under the DMA.

Ribera said Brussels had a duty to enforce rules adopted by its institutions and said US authorities were pursuing similar approaches in comparable cases. The EU and the United States agreed earlier in 2026 to discuss friction over EU digital rules, but those talks have not begun. Greer said Washington wanted dialogue, but said real dialogue could only take place during a ceasefire.

The fines followed a probe launched in 2024. Brussels had faced accusations that it delayed the decision because of concern over relations with Washington. On 21 July 2026, about 25 Republican lawmakers urged Trump to use tools such as trade investigations against what they called the EU's discriminatory digital rules, a step that could lead to higher tariffs. Virkkunen said Europe remained committed to its rules.