A group of parliamentarians signed a letter addressed to the President Joe Biden, warning of what they consider to be an alleged persecution of American companies by the European Union. Members of the Democratic and Republican parties have expressed concern about the restrictive provisions of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), arguing that these measures have exclusively impacted US companies, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft.
Congressmen claim that European and even Chinese software companies are not subject to the same restrictions, suggesting a possible inclination towards protectionism. They urge President Biden to begin a dialogue with European authorities to safeguard US national interests.
In the letter, the lawmakers state that preserving U.S. leadership in this sector is crucial for the economy and American workers. They warn that the designation of major American companies as ‘gatekeepers’ could shake the economy, diminish the US’s global standing in the digital sphere and compromise consumer security.
Furthermore, deputies question the absence of companies such as Alibaba, Huawei and Tencent on the European Union list, highlighting that only ByteDance, owner of TikTok, was included. They highlight the lack of designation of European retailers, content sharing platforms, payment and telecommunications companies from the bloc, considering this omission inexplicable. So far, both the White House and the European Commission have not commented on the matter. However, the US government has already warned Europeans that excessive restrictions could affect relations between the two blocs.
