Europe is Catching On

In a world where you can’t run a company with US payment systems and US infrastructure, and the US has shown they’re willing to weaponize the dollar and its technology stack1, the EU can’t just write off their dependence on US infrastructure. This is a complete own-goal by the Trump Administration. It will make it hard for US companies to sell their infrastructure in Europe. Both EU based companies and EU governments, in light of the Greenland fiasco, recognize they are vulnerable.

The risk isn’t that the US flips a “kill switch”, as the interviewee suggests. The risk is something targeted, such as putting ICC judges on the sanctions list. Except the target may be larger. This could mean generals, politicians, or bureaucrats can no longer access their e-mail, their cloud documents, or any special sovereign clouds or arrangements to support those governments. For example, if the German government has a reason to investigate its far-right parties. Maybe that prosecutor and their office is sanctioned. Maybe the regulator initiating an action against a US interest (such as monopoly abuses by those same technology companies). Or, if the EU company is a competitor to one of the companies where the US government has started buying shares.

They would lose access to data, applications, be locked out of payment systems, and communications. If you are unable to send an e-mail because your account is a Google enterprise account. Or your office cannot pay for salaries, goods, or services.

This is 100% an own goal by the Trump administration. Because they wanted to show how they were willing to disregard norms, the laws, and alliances, they made US technology a vulnerability as much as it is an asset. The writing is on the wall and the mid-term elections won’t hamper some of these actions. Especially since the courts have been giving the administration a pass or a benefit of the doubt. You may get your Office subscription turned back on, but after several months in court. But even if you have precedent on your side, the Supreme Court has shown that it doesn’t really matter.

  1. https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/12/sanctioning-icc-judges-directly-engaged-in-the-illegitimate-targeting-of-israel ↩︎

Leave a comment