The Trump administration has expressed strong dissatisfaction with overseas regulatory scrutiny faced by major U.S. digital technology companies. It has resorted to tactics such as canceling trade negotiations and threatening trade investigations to pressure the EU, South Korea, and the UK into granting favorable treatment to these American tech giants.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has pushed the EU, South Korea, and the UK to reduce digital taxes on large U.S. tech firms and relax user privacy protection rules. The administration views these policies as disproportionately targeting American companies.

On the 23rd, the U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on five individuals, including former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, barring them from entering the country. Analysts suggest this move may be linked to ongoing friction between the U.S. and the EU over digital industry regulations.

On the 16th, the USTR warned that if the EU continues to "restrict, weaken, or obstruct" the competitiveness of U.S. service providers, Washington would "have no choice but to employ all available countermeasures." The office explicitly named European firms such as Sweden's Spotify, Germany's Siemens, and France's Mistral AI as potential targets for retaliation.

Earlier, on the 5th, the European Commission fined Elon Musk's social media platform X €120 million under the EU's Digital Services Act. This marked the first major enforcement action under the new regulation.

USTR Jamieson Greer hinted in an interview on the 18th that the U.S. might launch a trade investigation into the EU's digital regulations. However, he emphasized that the goal would be to "reach a negotiated outcome" rather than impose higher tariffs.

The USTR also canceled a scheduled meeting with South Korean officials on the 18th, citing concerns over new digital regulations being drafted by the South Korean parliament and hearings on data breaches involving U.S.-based tech firms.

Additionally, U.S. and UK officials confirmed on the 16th that the U.S. had suspended a technology cooperation agreement signed with the UK in September, citing dissatisfaction with British digital regulatory policies.

The USTR may employ retaliatory measures such as launching investigations into alleged unfair digital trade practices, enabling further actions against jurisdictions regulating U.S. tech firms, or imposing penalties on specific foreign companies.

These measures are seen as "less provocative," as the Trump administration aims to avoid aggressive policies like tariff hikes that could disrupt trade agreements, unsettle financial markets, trigger trade retaliation, or fuel inflation concerns among U.S. voters. The EU has maintained that digital regulations are a matter of sovereignty and non-negotiable. While U.S. tech industry representatives hope for government intervention, former trade officials note uncertainty over how far policies should go, given fears that a digital trade war could ultimately harm American businesses.