TNB Tech Minute: Trump Threatens New EU Tariffs Over Tech Fines

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
Countless companies invest in AI tools without tying them to tangible business outcomes. Join McKinsey later to learn how leaders rewire their organizations for sustained impact and value.

**Julie Chang** (0:15)
Here's your afternoon TNB Tech Minute for Friday, July 24th. I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal.
President Trump has threatened new tariffs on the European Union. The EU this week announced it would fine Alphabet's Google $1 billion for breaching digital competition rules. In response, President Trump today said that he would direct his government to open a tariff investigation that could result in new levies on the EU. The investigation will be run by the US Trade Representative's office under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. It allows the president to impose tariffs on countries that discriminate against US companies.
In the second quarter, Verizon Communications revenue fell 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion, missing analyst estimates. Verizon attributed the decrease to a nearly 20% decline in equipment revenue as customers hold on to their mobile devices longer. The company said it's pursuing new revenue opportunities, including from the AI infrastructure boom, as its turnaround effort continues. Verizon CEO said today it signed a deal with Google worth over a billion dollars, in which the tech giant will use the carrier's dark fiber to connect its data centers.
And Charter Communications logged its fourth consecutive quarterly revenue decline. Second quarter revenue edged down by 1.7% to $13.5 billion, roughly in line with estimates. Charter posted a profit of $1.29 billion below Wall Street expectations. Rising competition from fixed wireless and fiber connection services has been eating into the company's home internet subscriber base, while cord cutting is weighing on its cable business. During the quarter, it lost 172,000 internet subscribers and 21,000 video customers, but added 406,000 lines to its Spectrum mobile offering. And that's your TNB Tech Minutes. Check back Monday for another Quick Tech Update.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:17)
AI transformation is more than a tech initiative. It requires a broader rewiring of human skills and ways of working. Here's Dan Swann, Senior Partner at McKinsey.

**Dan Swann** (2:26)
One of the biggest unlocks we see is the human being capabilities around the technology. Whereas before, you may need to be really good at analysis. Now, the skill might be, how do you prompt these tools to get the right answers and outcomes? And so for us, it's a really big priority to help companies to understand, how do you need to change the operating model of your organization and change the underlying capabilities of the people that are interacting with the technology? And when you see that all humming together, it can be really, really special.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:57)
Discover how McKinsey helps organizations rewire to out-compete with AI at mckinsey.com/techmoves.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:03)
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