Trump feels vindicated after EU slaps fine on Google, says ‘I told so’

Washington, July 20: US President Donald Trump on Thursday, July 19, felt vindicated over his tough stance on Europe saying that a fine imposed on Google by the European Commission proved his allegation that the European Union (EU) was taking advantage of the US.

The commission, which is the EU's executive arm, slapped the internet giant with a $5 billion fine on Wednesday, July 18, after an antitrust probe into the Android mobile operating system. The probe concluded that asking the phone manufacturers to preload Google apps and services onto Android products hindered innovation and denied European customers a choice.

Reuters reported that the EU officials on Wednesday also asked Google to stop using its popular Android mobile operating system to block its rivals, worsening the trade tension between the EU and US.

Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai posted a blog soon after the fine was imposed, expressing his disagreeing views on the EU's decision and saying that Google was planning to appeal against the decision.

According to a report in tech news website CNET: "The EU frequently takes tech companies to task over issues such as taxes, antitrust issues and privacy, but Trump is interpreting this particular fine as a slight against the US."

Trump, who termed the EU as an economic "foe" to the US after his stormy visit to a Nato summit and the UK last week, said in a tweet on Thursday: "I told you so! The European Union just slapped a Five Billion Dollar fine on one of our great companies, Google. They truly have taken advantage of the U.S., but not for long!"

However, there was not much response to Trump's take on the matter. Neither the European Competition Commission nor Google nor the White House responded to his remark, CNET reported.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was set to meet Trump at the White House on July 25 to discuss trade and other issues, Reuters reported.