Amid U.S. President Donald Trump's warning of a 'tariff bomb' against countries regulating its big tech firms, reports indicate that the targeted country was Korea, not the European Union (EU). Analysts have noted that the Trump administration views the push for platform regulation in Korea as a 'litmus test' to prevent the spread of global big tech regulation.
The political news outlet Politico reported this, citing four sources familiar with the White House's digital trade policy on the 3rd (local time). President Trump stated on his social media platform Truth Social on the 26th of last month, 'We will confront countries that attack American technology companies,' adding that 'if countries implementing digital taxes, digital services laws, and digital market regulations do not withdraw their discriminatory measures, we will impose significant additional tariffs and restrictions on technology and semiconductor exports.'
At the time, the international community interpreted this warning as targeting the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA is a strict regulatory bill aimed at preventing the abuse of market dominance by major platform operators such as Google and Apple. However, a source who directly spoke with President Trump told Politico, 'Trump's post was a 'warning shot' to Korea and other countries reviewing new regulations on digital trade, advising them not to follow the EU's approach.'
Trump's post came the day after he held his first summit with President Lee Jae-myung at the White House. According to Politico, the U.S. pressured the Korean side to include a promise to 'block big tech regulatory legislation' in a joint statement ahead of the summit, but Korea rejected this. Three senior White House officials said, 'We are watching Korea's response as a 'litmus test' to gauge whether we can block digital regulation efforts from other trading partners.' The intent is to quell early concerns that the EU's regulatory model could spread from Korea to India, Brazil, Turkey, and beyond.
The legislation that the United States is concerned about is the 'Online Platform Monopoly Regulation Act (On-Platform Act),' currently discussed in the Korean National Assembly. This law aims to prevent companies like Google and Apple, as well as domestic large platform corporations such as Coupang and Naver, from using their monopolistic positions to harm vendors and consumers. The Trump administration and hardliners in the Republican Party argue that this law discriminates against American corporations and creates an environment favorable only to Chinese companies.
Senator Bill Hagerty, classified as a close aide to Trump, publicly opposed the regulation proposal from Korea, sending a letter with fellow lawmakers in July stating, 'Korea's regulatory proposal could give an advantage to Chinese technology companies.' Charlie Kirk, a prominent 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) commentator and head of Turning Point USA, also wrote on social media platform X just before the Korea-U.S. summit, 'The Korean government targets American industries with regulation while giving a free pass to Chinese companies,' adding that 'only Trump can solve this issue.' Politico reported that Kirk's post was presented to President Trump before the summit.
The issue of monopoly among major platforms is also an important policy issue domestically. Rushing to pursue regulations could lead to trade friction with the United States. While the White House expects that Korea will eventually adjust its regulatory level, the Korean government is said to be maintaining its position that it will pursue regulations in some form. A former Republican official told Politico, 'While Trump has the authority to target Amazon or Google in his country, other countries should not touch American technology companies,' adding that 'this would be a 'gift' to the Chinese government.'