Trump and U.S. CEOs agree: Europe red tape goes too far

American executives see an opportunity to shape EU policy as the bloc seeks to trim its own regulations

- Kim Mackrael

President Trump doesn't have many good things to say about Europe these days. Neither do some of America's most powerful CEOs.

(Bloomberg)

President Trump doesn't have many good things to say about Europe these days. Neither do some of America's most powerful CEOs.

The new U.S. National Security Strategy, a foreign-policy declaration that shocked European leaders with its harsh language about the continent, echoed complaints from American executives about what they see as the European Union's oppressive business regulations.

The strategy document, published Friday, targets Europe over various grievances, including what it calls a "failed focus on regulatory suffocation." Europe's declining share of global economic output stems in part from "national and transnational regulations that undermine creativity and industriousness," the document says.

The criticism was amplified last week by a $140 million EU fine against Elon Musk's X. The decision erupted into a social-media storm involving Musk and U.S. officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who referred to the fine as "an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments."

Trump on Monday called the fine "a nasty one" and said he didn't think it was right. "Europe has to be very careful," he said.

The EU separately opened an antitrust investigation Tuesday into Alphabet's Google over its use of uploaded content for artificial-intelligence tools. A Google spokeswoman said the complaint that sparked the investigation risks stifling innovation.