The Discriminatory Impact of European Fines on American Companies

The European Union (EU) has imposed tens of billions of euros in fines on American firms. As a result, it has garnered significant criticism from the U.S. business community, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, and, most recently, the White House. 

EU officials have argued that companies operating in Europe must comply with its laws and that their application of fines does not constitute discrimination against American companies. It is true that companies that choose to operate in Europe must comply with its laws.

However, it is also the case that Europe’s increasing reliance on arbitrary fines has resulted in abusive treatment of American companies. In fact, in recent years, a growing number of European laws have included significant fining authority, encouraging regulators to use fines as a central part of their compliance toolkit. This includes the Digital Markets Act, Digital Services, and EU AI Act. This authority gives the regulator maximum discretion over when to levy a fine and how to calculate the amount of the fine.

Troublingly, there are few established constraints in these laws to safeguard against overzealous use of fines. Nor are there meaningful legal guardrails to limit fines from becoming abusive.

The new U.S. Chamber report, Arbitrary & Abusive: The Discriminatory Impact of European Fines on American Companies, shows that only by adopting a more balanced approach to fines can the EU restore trust, encourage investment, and ease bilateral tensions. Europe needs to conduct a comprehensive review of and entirely overhaul its fining practices to ensure they are used selectively, calculated transparently, and linked to actual harm. Removing global turnover as a basis for fines would be a big step toward restoring credibility to EU enforcement actions.

Download the report from this page to learn more.