The European Commission risks caving to US pressure to weaken its landmark digital regulations as it seeks to finalise last month’s preliminary trade agreement with Washington, according to Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee.
Speaking to Euractiv, the German MEP said “there is a risk” that the EU’s flagship Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) – which regulate online content and curb market abuse by major tech platforms – could be scrapped to appease Washington, despite repeated assurances from the Commission that the bloc’s digital rulebook is not up for discussion.
Previous pledges, such as Brussels’ promise to reject any deal that retained US President Donald Trump’s 10% baseline tariff, were ultimately dropped to secure the so-called “framework” agreement. The deal will expose most EU exporters to a 15% US levy, though key details remain under negotiation.
“Of course, there is a risk” that the EU could jettison its digital laws, Lange warned, citing the “big difference” between US and EU interpretations of the deal published last week.
A White House “Fact Sheet” stated that both sides “intend to address unjustified digital trade barriers”, and pledged to “maintain zero customs duties on electronic transmissions” and ensure that the EU “will not adopt or maintain network usage fees”.
By contrast, the European Commission’s official summary of the deal made no reference to the EU’s digital regulations.
Adding to the confusion, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC last week that the EU’s digital services taxes and “attack” on US tech firms were still “on the table”. Commission spokesperson for trade Olof Gill pushed back, saying the bloc’s digital rulebook is “absolutely not” up for discussion.
The DSA, which targets harmful online content, has been repeatedly criticised by US officials – including Vice President JD Vance – for enabling “digital censorship” and the “silencing” of Brussels’ political opponents. The DMA, meanwhile, has been central to the Commission’s antitrust probes and fines targeting US tech giants like Google, Apple, and Meta, drawing backlash from Trump and Silicon Valley.
A debatable deficit
Lange said that fears over the Commission abandoning its digital laws are compounded by Brussels’ capitulation in the dispute over the size of the EU’s trade surplus with the US.
Ahead of last week’s agreement, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič repeatedly emphasised that the EU’s €200 billion trade surplus in goods with the US was “nearly balanced out” by its €150 billion deficit in services. He also pledged to “solve” the “problem” by increasing EU imports of US energy and food by €50 billion annually.
However, under last month’s agreement, the EU committed to purchasing $250 billion worth of US energy annually over the remaining three years of Trump’s presidency – effectively endorsing Washington’s argument that only trade in goods, but not services, is economically salient.
“Maroš said: ‘We have to combine trade in goods and services as well, and then the trade deficit is so small, only €50 billion,’” said Lange. “And then [Commission President] Ursula [von der Leyen] said: ‘Oh yeah, there is a trade deficit on the US side, and we have to rebalance this.’ So in this talk with President Trump, she took on board the argument of Trump.”
Lange, a Social Democrat, also criticised the Commission – which oversees EU trade policy – for sidelining the European Parliament, the bloc’s only directly elected institution, during negotiations.
“We had some discussions [with Commission officials] but there was, clearly, no taking on board of the Parliament’s view, that’s for sure,” said Lange.
He added that it is “really not acceptable” that von der Leyen – a fellow German from the rival centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) – had centralised so much decision-making power on “the thirteenth floor of the Berlaymont“.
“The US has specific interests,” Lange said. “I hope that the Commission will [not] give up – but it’s in the hands of Ursula.”
(de)