Follow-up question to P‑002815/2025 on a possible softening of EU digital rules as part of an agreement with the USA

Question for written answer E-003643/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Petra Steger (PfE), Mary Khan (ESN)

On 18 August 2025, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen replied to my question for written answer P-002815/2025[1] on a possible softening of EU digital rules as part of an agreement with the USA (tabled on 10 July 2025). While the second and third questions have remained completely unanswered, the answer to the first is contradictory and misleading.

Contrary to Ms Virkkunen's statement, numerous reports from renowned media show that the EU digital acts - the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) - have been repeatedly raised in the context of trade talks with the US and explicitly mentioned by US counterparts as an obstacle to trade. Even if the Commission has ruled out the idea of formally amending or abolishing these acts, there is no denying that they have been raised during the discussions and were part of the negotiation dynamics[2][3][4].

• 1.Why is the Commission denying that the EU digital acts were raised during the trade talks and were part of the negotiation dynamics?
• 2.Does it believe that the general tariff for EU goods might have been lower if a further debate on EU digital rules had been allowed?
• 3.Was the idea of setting up a joint committee to give US tech companies a say in the application of market rules discussed during the trade talks?

Submitted: 20.9.2025

• [1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/P-10-2025-002815_EN.html
• [2] https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/u-s-eu-near-deal-on-non-tariff-trade-irritants-455c42f1
• [3] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-17/eu-us-trade-statement-held-up-over-digital-laws-ft-says
• [4] https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/handel-streit-ueber-digitalgesetze-verzoegert-abkommen-von-eu-und-usa/100148820.html