STORY: President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday threatened to impose fees or restrictions on European service providers.
That's in response to what it called "discriminatory" actions against U.S. firms.
Washington accused the EU and member states of "discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines and directives against U.S. service providers."
It argued that EU companies, like Spotify and Accenture, "operate freely" in the U.S.
In a post on X, the U.S. Trade Representative office suggested it'd have "no choice but to begin using every tool at its disposal to counter these unreasonable measures."
It suggested fees or restrictions could be among the actions taken, also pointing to companies like Amadeus and SAP.
This threat comes as Europe forges ahead with a crackdown on Big Tech.
Regulators imposed a $140 million fine on Elon Musk's X in December.
That's just months after hitting Google with an unexpectedly high $3.44 billion charge.
Washington has taken aim against the EU's digital legislation and has ordered diplomats to launch a lobbying blitz against the laws.
The European Commission pushed back against the USTR's accusations, saying its rules "apply equally and fairly to all companies operating in the EU."
