Microsoft President Brad Smith spoke in the course of the signing ceremony of the Cooperation Settlement between the Polish Ministry of Protection and Microsoft, in Warsaw, Poland, February 17, 2025.
Kacper Pempel | Reuters
Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US expertise large is dedicated to complying with European legal guidelines – though he can’t all the time agree with them.
“Like each citizen and firm, we don’t all the time agree with each coverage of each authorities. However even when we’ve misplaced instances in European courts, Microsoft has lengthy revered and complies with European legal guidelines,” Smith mentioned in a weblog publication on Wednesday.
Smith’s feedback are a part of the charming Microsoft offensive in Europe this week after tensions between the US and the European Union has elevated in latest weeks over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Trump’s commerce warfare with commerce companions in the US – together with the European Union, China and others – has brought on fears that the EU can use its regulatory repression of America’s technological giants as a instrument to counteract commerce restrictions.
The EU has been making an attempt to tame large expertise firms in competitors for years. Block Digital Markets Act (DMA)which turned relevant final 12 months goals to deal with the market energy of huge so -called “goalkeeper” firms as Google., Apple., Meta., Amazon and Microsoft.
Final week the European Fee – the EU govt physique – A fine of EUR 500 million on Apple ($ 568.5 million) and Meta 200 million euros ($ 227.4 million) for DMA violations.
“We perceive that European legal guidelines apply to our enterprise practices in Europe, simply as native legal guidelines apply to native practices in the US and related legal guidelines, they apply elsewhere on the earth. This contains European Competitors Legislation and Digital Markets Act,” Smith mentioned on Wednesday.
“We aren’t solely concerned within the building of digital infrastructure for Europe, but additionally to adjust to the position that legal guidelines throughout Europe play to manage our services and products.”
Trump earlier pointed to the EU regulatory actions towards America’s expertise giants as a motive to hit the tariff block. In February, he threatened the block with obligations to take care of the “pushed extortion” of US expertise firms by means of digital taxes and fines.
