Since the dawn of the internet, European leaders have been giving U.S. tech companies a hard time.
From paralyzing EU regulations to a perpetual flow of antitrust investigations and lawsuits, European governments have mobilized against America’s tech juggernauts for decades.
Their stated intentions always relate to protecting consumers… but beneath the surface, there is an embarrassing reality for Europe that is probably influencing their behavior.
The sad fact is that Europeans have shown a remarkable inability to create a truly vibrant tech sector of their own. Across Europe, only a small handful of tech businesses have achieved the sort of scale now routinely seen in the U.S. and even Asia.
While the intellectual talent seems to be there, many blame a lack of venture capital along with a business culture that is exceedingly hostile to risk-taking and entrepreneurship.
European businesspeople will often be among the first to tell you this. In the United States, a business failure is a learning experience. In Europe, it’s a mark of shame.
Europe’s relative weakness when it comes to producing homegrown technological innovation has had real consequences. Compared with the United States, their stock markets have been left in the dust.
Over the past 10 years, an investment in the S&P 500 has generated a total return of nearly 200%, thanks largely to tech outperformance. An investment in a comparable large-cap European stock index has returned just under 75%.
If European politicians and business leaders tend to be a bit jealous of American tech success, it is understandable. But this resentment often seems to pale in comparison to their hostility to Donald Trump.
The brash American President directly opposes almost every policy position favored by European elites, from Ukraine to climate change.
The now global movement Trump has inspired has even become a threat to their continued claim to power. Conservative populist parties have made major progress across the continent.
