Apple May Face Only ‘Minimal’ EU Fines as Tariff Fears Loom
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A new report from the Financial Times, citing the ever-popular “people familiar with the decisions,” says Apple will soon be “fined and ordered to revise its App Store rules” in the European Union, possibly as soon as next week. However, the fines likely won’t be as steep as had first been expected, thanks to US President Donald Trump’s fondness for tariffs.
The European Commission has apparently had a change of heart on the fines following a recent change in competition leadership. The FT report says the new commission will focus on “the compliance of Big Tech companies with the law than on potential high fines in the billions of Euros.”
While the EU’s Digital Markets Act allows the commission to fine Apple up to 10% of its global revenue, which would amount to tens of billions of dollars, the EU is reportedly considering fines well below that threshold.
The Financial Times cites sources who say that Apple will face only “minimal fines” for failing to comply with the DMA. The decision is driven partly by a desire to “avoid escalating tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump,” it adds.
President Trump has loudly criticized the European Union’s investigations into US-based tech firms, including Apple, Google, and Meta. Trump will likely take action against the EU if they hit Apple with massive fines. Trump also said that Apple CEO Tim Cook, who personally donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, called him to complain about the EU regulators.
Trump has called EU fines “overseas extortion ” and a “form of taxation.” In February, Trump threatened to hit the EU with import tariffs in retaliation for any heavy EU fines against US tech firms.
“This is a crucial test for the Commission,” said an employee of one of the affected companies. “Further targeting US tech firms will heighten transatlantic tensions and provoke retaliatory actions and, ultimately, it’s Member States and European businesses that will bear the cost.”
Brussels regulators are reportedly considering dropping their case over whether Apple’s operating system discourages users from switching browsers or search engines from the defaults. This is after Apple already made changes to comply with the rules.
Following Trump’s taking office in January, it was reported that the EU was reconsidering its investigations of US tech firms. However, the EU claimed that the report was erroneous, stating that “there is no such review taking place” and instead simply assessing the state of its ongoing investigations.
The planned decisions are being presented to the European Union’s 27 member states today, with an announcement scheduled for next week.
The EU is still expected to tell Apple to revise its App Store rules to fix the anti-steering issues that the European Commission doesn’t like. Apple isn’t alone in anticipating new demands from the EC, as it is also expected to demand that Meta change its “pay or consent” model, which it says is intended to push users into allowing tracking.
