EU's Bold Counterattack: Austria Calls for Striking GOP States and Tech Titans

 

Austria’s economy minister is urging the European Union to hit back at President Trump’s sweeping tariffs by targeting U.S. Republican-led states and politically connected tech companies. Speaking in Vienna, Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer laid out a strategy to leverage retaliatory measures amid growing European frustration over what many see as politically motivated economic aggression.

The U.S. tariffs—imposing a flat 10% duty on most imported goods and even higher rates on select trading partners like the EU—have rattled transatlantic commerce. Hattmannsdorfer’s proposal marks a rare move to use trade policy as a political tool, aiming specifically at Republican strongholds and influential tech firms tied to Trump’s allies.

The debate over countermeasures isn’t new. European officials have long discussed imposing digital services taxes on major U.S. tech companies, many based in Republican bastions like Texas and Florida. Now, Hattmannsdorfer’s call for action signals a sharper response to what European leaders view as economic bullying from the U.S.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the EU has already finalized a first round of counter-tariffs worth up to €26 billion ($28.4 billion) in response to earlier U.S. steel and aluminum duties, with further measures expected if negotiations stall. French officials and former EU trade negotiators are also weighing options, including restricting access to public procurement and services markets for U.S. companies.

As EU trade ministers prepare to convene in Luxembourg, the potential for a broader package of retaliatory measures looms large, heightening the risk of a full-blown trade war that could reshape transatlantic economic relations for years to come.