US steels for Google fine

Cecilia Malmström has fired a loud warning shot in the direction of Washington, saying Brussels will retaliate if Donald Trump slaps tariffs on European steel as part of his threatened crackdown on imports on national security grounds.

These are tense days indeed in transatlantic relations. The trade commissioner’s intervention came on the eve of an EU antitrust ruling that will hit Google today with a fine of more than €1bn (quite possibly significantly more than €1bn). This is small change for Google but it is bound to trigger a sharp response from American business, which still bristles at a ruling last year that handed a €13bn bill for Irish back taxes to Apple.