Trump says US will investigate EU trade practices, claiming the bloc unfairly fined tech giants

WASHINGTON: The United States will open a formal investigation into the European Union’s trade practices, President Donald Trump said on Friday, claiming the bloc has unfairly levied billions of dollars of fines against Google, Apple and other U.S. tech giants.

The Republican president made the announcement a day after the EU hit Google with a fine of 890 million euros, or $1 billion, after it said the technology behemoth broke digital antitrust regulations by setting up Google Play and its ubiquitous search engine to corral consumers toward its own services and apps to the detriment of competitors.