Tech Diplomacy Now: Europe’s Digital Tariffs
Europe’s digital regulations have strained U.S.-EU tech ties, risking long-term cooperation and alignment against authoritarian tech models.
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Top News of the Week – Europe’s Digital Tariffs
For nearly a decade, the European Union has been building a de facto digital tariff system to target American technology companies and protect their own domestic technology industries. Europeans have used the nebulous concepts of “privacy” to side-step international trade rules and the World Trade Organization. This long history of protectionism with GDPR and the Digital Markets Act, has made the tensions between the United States and Europe worse.
Key Points:
With the creation of the 2016 GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and the 2022 Digital Markets Act, the European Union created barriers to digital trade that sought to extract fees from digital platforms operating in the EU.
These restrictions are almost entirely targeted at American technology companies and are purposefully designed to not harm European ones and predate American efforts by the Trump Administration to create a level playing field for transatlantic trade.
By framing these discriminatory laws as “privacy laws” and “human rights laws,” the European Union intentionally designed them so that the United States could not contest them at the World Trade Organization.
More on Background:
EU Regulatory Actions Against US Tech Companies Are a De Facto Tariff System – Hilal Aka, ITIF, April 28, 2025
Apple and Meta Are First to Be Hit by E.U. Digital Competition Law – NYTs, April 23, 2025
Google, X next targets as Europe stays tough on tech regulation – Reuters, April 23, 2025
Apple and Meta attack 'unfair' €700m EU fines – BBC, April 23, 2025
US calls EU fines on Apple and Meta 'economic extortion' – Reuters, April 23, 2025
EU readies counterstrike on Big Tech and US banks over Trump’s mega tariffs – Politico.eu, March 31, 2025
Does the DMA Intentionally Target US Companies? – ITIF, March 21, 2025
From AI To Digital Tax: Europe and US Clash on Tech – CEPA, February 28, 2025
US Policymakers Should Fight Back Against EU Attacks on America’s Tech Sector – ITIF, March 5, 2024
The EU Sharpens Its Teeth: How Regulatory Fines on American Tech Firms Are Harming Competition – AEI, November 22, 2023
Implications of the Digital Markets Act for Transatlantic Cooperation – CSIS, September 15, 2021
Latest News
U.S. and U.K. Unveil Framework for Trade Deal – WSJ, May 8, 2025
Fact Sheet: U.S.-UK Reach Historic Trade Deal – The White House, May 8, 2025
White House Warns China of Cyber Retaliation Over Infrastructure Hacks – Info Security Magazine, May 2, 2025
Most mainland Chinese citizens oppose use of force to unify with Taiwan: survey – SCMP, May 1, 2025
Could Apple Exist Without Its Ties to China? Probably Not. – NYTs, May 1, 2025
‘Don’t come here’: Warning from the frontlines to Chinese nationals thinking of fighting for Russia – CNN, April 29, 2025
Technology Strategy and Policy
The United States and Singapore Signal More Robust Export Control Enforcement – Wilmer Hale, April 28, 2025
What would a US tariff on chips look like? – FT, April 24, 2025
New Data Show U.S. Retains Significant Share of Foreign Science and Engineering Talent Upon Graduation – Association of American Universities, April 18, 2025
USTR Section 301 Action on China’s Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance – Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, April 17, 2025
Beyond Tariffs: What the U.S. Can Learn from China's Industrial Playbook – RAND, April 17, 2025
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI reverses course, says its nonprofit will remain in control of its business operations – TechCrunch, May 5, 2025
Satellite images reveal Huawei’s advanced chip production line in China – FT, May 3, 2025
Alibaba unveils Qwen3 AI models that it says outperform DeepSeek R1 – SCMP, April 29, 2025
Freezing China Out of Setting the Rules for AI – The Wire China, April 27, 2025
Why It’s So Difficult for Robots to Make Your Nike Sneakers – WSJ, April 21, 2025
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
How China is gaining ground in the Middle East cloud computing race – Rest of the World, May 4, 2025
FCC to vote to bar Chinese labs deemed security risks from testing US electronics – Reuters, April 30, 2025
Cyber Resilience in the Indo-Pacific – National Bureau of Asian Research, April 29, 2025
Critical Minerals
Rare-earth prices triple to new records on China export curbs – Nikkei Asia, May 3, 2025
Pentagon's AI metals program goes private in bid to boost Western supply deals – Reuters, May 2, 2025
US says minerals deal will strengthen Trump in talks with Russia – Reuters, May 1, 2025
Lynas Asks U.S. to Pick Up Tab as Rare-Earths Project Costs Rise – WSJ, April 28, 2025
The Millennium Challenge Corporation could prove essential in the race for critical minerals. Reform it, don’t shut it down. – Atlantic Council, April 24, 2025
U.S. agencies alarmed by China’s curbs on exports of rare-earth minerals – WaPo, April 24, 2025
Synthetic Biology
Improving The Safety and Security of Biological Research – The White House, May 5, 2025
Building Living Therapeutics with Synthetic Biology – Technology Networks, May 1, 2025
Xenotopic synthetic biology: Prospective tools for delaying aging and age-related diseases – Science Advances, March 28, 2025
Quantum
Cisco says its new entanglement chip could speed up practical quantum computing timeline by a decade – Fast Company, May 6, 2025
New Mexico Wants to Be the Heart of Quantum Computing – WSJ, April 22, 2025
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Europe’s Failed Quest for Independence in Space – Foreign Policy, May 5, 2025
President Trump's FY26 Budget Revitalizes Human Space Exploration – PRNewswire, May 2, 2025
Space: Tech on the High Frontier – Hoover Institution, April 30, 2025
US urging allies to cease talks with Chinese satellite industry – NextGov, April 21, 2025
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Nvidia Is Again Working on China-Tailored Chips After U.S. Export Ban – The Information, May 1, 2025
China’s Huawei Develops New AI Chip, Seeking to Match Nvidia – WSJ, April 28, 2025
After years of failed AI deals, Intel plans homegrown challenge to Nvidia – Reuters, April 25, 2025
Etch and Release – C4ADS, April 24, 2025
TSMC’s Cutting-Edge A14 Chip Tech to Start Production in 2028 – Bloomberg, April 23, 2025
Huawei introduces the Ascend 920 AI chip to fill the void left by Nvidia's H20 – Tom’s Hardware, April 19, 2025
Energy and Climate
Chinese Firm Behind NATO Ally's Windfarm Is Tied to Army – Newsweek, May 5, 2025
What Caused the European Power Outage? – Wired, May 1, 2025
How electricity grids fail - and why restoring Spain and Portugal's power will be a nightmare – SkyNews, April 28, 2025
The Agonizing Task of Turning Europe’s Power Back On – Wired, April 28, 2025
Opinion and Commentary
Is It Too Late to Slow China’s AI Development? – Foreign Policy, May 5, 2025
America’s genetic data is on the auction block — will Beijing buy it? – Craig Singleton, The Hill, May 2, 2025
The silence on tech policy is setting off alarm bells – Joseph Brooks, InnovationAus, April 30, 2025
China isn’t trying to win the AI race – Angela Zhang, FT, April 24, 2025
How Japan and Europe can unite to steer world away from disorder – Hiroyuki Akita, Nikkei Asia, April 13, 2025
The unseen bond: India, Israel and the human cost of extremism – Shiran Mlamdovsky Somech, The Jerusalem Post, May 7, 2025
The Last Word
“Only trustworthy labs can participate in our process.”
– FCC Chair Brendan Carr on barring Chinese labs from testing electronic devices for use in the U.S.
About: Tech Diplomacy Now
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. As the leader of the new category of Tech Diplomacy, the Institute integrates technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies, and foreign policy tools to build the Global Trusted Tech Network of governments, companies, organizations and individuals to accelerate the innovation and adoption of trusted technology and ensure technology advances freedom.