It's being reported this morning that German federal judges have indicated that they could back the country's antitrust regulator in a legal battle with Apple, following over three hours of deliberations over whether the U.S. tech giant should be subject to additional controls.

The German cartel office said in April 2023 it considered Apple a "company of paramount cross-market significance for competition", opening the door to possible measures curbing its dominance.

Wolfgang Kirchhoff, presiding judge on the panel assessing Apple's appeal against the designation, said an overall assessment had shown it could be true that Apple has such significance across markets.

However, the Federal Court of Justice held off on handing down a ruling on Tuesday, calling for more time to deliberate.

The legal team representing Apple urgently called on the court to consult with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg before taking a decision, arguing that German law may not be in line with EU law on the issue.

Kirchhoff had said in his opening comments that the judges saw no grounds for a referral to the EU court. Reuters

Last Thursday, US President Donald Trump blasted European Union regulators for targeting Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc., describing their cases against American companies as “a form of taxation.”

The EU has established a reputation globally for its aggressive regulation of major technology companies, often sparring with major social media platforms, such as Facebook and X, over content moderation, and the likes of Apple and Google over antitrust concerns.

“These are American companies whether you like it or not,” Trump said in comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “They shouldn’t be doing that. That’s, as far as I’m concerned, a form of taxation. We have some very big complaints with the EU.” Trump specifically referenced a court case that Apple lost last year over a €13 billion ($14.4 billion) Irish tax bill.

Trump’s comments mark the beginning of a long-anticipated clash between Trump and the EU over the bloc’s big tech crackdown. Apple, Google, Meta and the X platform owned by Trump confidant Elon Musk may all be facing billions in fines — or even mandatory divestment orders — from dozens of separate ongoing EU investigations.

Whether U.S. President Trump will call for heavy tariffs against Europe in an effort to force them to back off U.S. Tech giants or simply use tariffs as a tactic to get Europe to buy U.S. oil and natural gas is unknown at this time. Both will be key issues in the coming months ahead.