SBE Council Commends US Rep. Fitzgerald for Addressing Foreign Government Targeting of U.S. Businesses

By SBE Council at 17 December, 2025, 3:35 pm

On December 16, the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust hosted the hearing "Anti-American Antitrust: How Foreign Governments Target U.S. Businesses." In response to content covered during the hearing, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) President & CEO Karen Kerrigan issued the following statement:

"SBE Council commends Chairman Fitzgerald and members of the committee for focusing on this important trade and competition matter. While protectionists laws in various countries - such as the EU's Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act - directly target America's largest companies, the downstream effect on innovation, small business suppliers, investment, the startup ecosystem, and the availability of free and low-cost digital tools is a harmful one for U.S. entrepreneurs, as well as the entrepreneurs and small businesses in those countries where this anti-U.S. regulatory activity exists. Chairman Fitzgerald is correct, the EU and low-growth countries and regions need to confront their poor policy environments and the anti-growth barriers that are harming dynamic competition and successful business growth, not target successful U.S.-based businesses that are providing value in the marketplace."

"Unfortunately, EU regulators have drowned innovation and vibrant economic growth internally and are now extending their suffocating ways via protectionist laws that undermine free trade along with the businesses and employees who work hard to provide value, innovate, and service their customers well. Moreover, other countries such as Australia, Brazil, Japan and South Korea are emulating the EU's misguided approach - a harmful trend that must be stopped in order for entrepreneurs and small businesses everywhere to have a shot at vibrant growth and market access."

"The EU's targeting stretches beyond the DMA to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The CSDDD also imposes unfair mandates on businesses outside of the EU and would extract significant fines on entities that run afoul of complex, onerous, and arbitrary standards."

"SBE Council is pleased that Republican members of the committee are standing firm for American free enterprise and the market incentives that make the U.S. the best place to start and grow a business. And, as committee members noted, we do not want to import these intrusive policies thru, for example, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act proposed in the previous Congress, digital services taxes, or hyper-intrusive antitrust and regulatory activity in general."

"There's a reason why Americans are filing business applications and starting businesses at record numbers. Not only do they see opportunities across sectors for starting a business - and, in every industry from retail to tech, which belies the false narrative about 'concentrated' U.S. markets - but they also have access to free and low-costs digital tools and platforms that have lowered barriers and costs for launching and scaling a business. Critical tax relief and incentives provided by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, along with ongoing efforts to rein in and right-size regulation are also fueling a positive environment and more new businesses. The EU and other countries that are targeting successful U.S. businesses may want to consider adopting this proven policy path, rather than suffocating businesses with burdensome taxes and more regulation."

"As an organization that fully supports global trade and the agreements that open markets, SBE Council believes the foreign targeting of U.S. businesses is a serious trade matter that requires a U.S. response. We are pleased that Congress and the Trump Administration are taking needed action to address the unfair imbalance. These practices harm the competitiveness, growth, and innovative capacity of U.S. companies, and by extension the entire U.S. economy."

"SBE Council is grateful for the leadership of Chairman Fitzgerald in hosting this hearing and in developing a legislative response to support the Trump Administration in trade negotiations with specific countries that are unfairly targeting U.S. businesses."

SBE Council is a nonpartisan advocacy, research and education organization dedicated to protecting small business and promoting entrepreneurship. For more than 30 years, SBE Council has advanced a range of private sector and public policy initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem for strong startup activity and small business growth.

Visit www.sbecouncil.org for additional information. X: @SBECouncil