Market Institute Senior Fellow Norm Singleton, writing in RealClearMarkets, warns that the European Union is once again using its sweeping technology regulations to target leading American companies—this time Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.
In June, the European Commission issued a preliminary designation of AWS and Azure as “gatekeepers” under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). As Singleton explains, the unusual part is that neither company meets the DMA’s normal quantitative thresholds for receiving that designation.
“The EUC concedes that AWS and Azure do not meet the DMA’s quantitative thresholds for gatekeeper designation, so the EUC is relying on Article 3(8),” Singleton writes.
Article 3(8) gives European regulators additional authority to designate companies based on factors such as their impact on the internal market, their role as a gateway between businesses and consumers, or whether they occupy an “entrenched and durable position.”
Singleton argues that applying that authority to AWS and Azure is particularly difficult to justify given the competitive nature of the cloud computing industry.
AWS, for example, has reduced its prices more than 100 times since its creation in 2006. Meanwhile, market-share data cited by Singleton puts AWS at 28 percent of the worldwide cloud infrastructure market, Microsoft Azure at 21 percent, and Google Cloud at 14 percent.
He also points to Flexera’s 2026 State of the Cloud Report, which found that 87 percent of organizations use multiple cloud providers.
“Thus, the market for cloud computing is cooperative and efficient, and none of the leading cloud computing companies approach the 50% market share that triggers a presumption of dominance under EU law,” Singleton writes.
The controversy is part of a much larger dispute over the EU’s treatment of American technology companies.
Singleton notes that European regulators have imposed billions of dollars in fines against companies including Google, Apple, and Meta in recent years. He argues that these actions should be understood in the context of the EU’s push for “tech sovereignty,” which seeks to strengthen Europe’s domestic technology industry.
“One way the EU bureaucrats want to achieve this goal is by using government regulatory power to advantage EU tech companies at the expense of American firms,” Singleton writes.
That approach is increasingly drawing attention in Washington. A group of 25 members of Congress has urged the Trump Administration to investigate whether the EU’s enforcement of the DMA against American companies warrants action under Section 301 of the Trade Act.
But Singleton cautions policymakers against responding with tariffs.
“Tariffs are not paid for by foreign businesses. Instead, American consumers pay the costs of the tariffs,” he writes.
Rather than imposing new tariffs, Singleton suggests other responses, including limiting European companies’ participation in projects financed by U.S. economic development agencies or negotiating a trade agreement that addresses the EU’s treatment of American technology firms.
The larger issue extends well beyond AWS and Azure. As cloud computing becomes increasingly important to artificial intelligence and the broader digital economy, the EU’s attempt to expand the reach of the DMA could have significant consequences for American technology companies competing in Europe.
Singleton concludes that Washington should focus on finding a response that protects American companies, workers, and consumers without imposing additional costs on Americans through tariffs.
Read Norm Singleton’s full commentary at RealClearMarkets.
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