As US-EU trade war escalates, UNI calls for ending Amazon’s access to EU public contracts

As transatlantic tensions rise in the context of evolving US-EU trade relations, UNI Europa urges European institutions to undertake a comprehensive reassessment of public procurement contracts awarded to American companies — including contracts awarded to Amazon Web Services (AWS). With reports that US President Donald Trump is set to announce a comprehensive set of tariffs on EU exports on 2 April, UNI Europa believes is imperative that Europe take decisive steps to safeguard its economic sovereignty, democratic values and workers’ rights.  

On 1 April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted at a “strong plan to retaliate”, which might target the US surplus in services by, among other measures, excluding US tech companies from public procurement contracts. Amazon Web Services has received over 1.3 billion euros in public contracts between 2019 and 2021 and almost 30 million euros for AWS contracts with different EU Directorate-Generals from 2020 to 2022.  

The company has consistently demonstrated contempt for the very principles that underpin the European social model. Across the globe, Amazon has waged an aggressive and well-documented campaign against trade unions, denying its workers the fundamental rights to organise and bargain collectively. Such behaviour is wholly inconsistent with European values, which enshrine the dignity of labour, social dialogue, and the right to fair working conditions. Awarding public contracts to a company that actively undermines these principles is unacceptable. A majority of Europeans agree: in a recent survey, 83% of EU citizens said they want union busters and underpaying companies to be excluded from public contracts. 

Further, Amazon’s repeated refusal to appear before the European Parliament, culminating in the withdrawal of its lobbyists’ badges to the institution, raises serious questions about the company’s willingness to engage in good faith with European institutions. Only one other company in history, Monsanto, has faced such a consequence, underscoring the gravity of Amazon’s disregard for EU governance and accountability. 

The political allegiances of Amazon’s leadership also warrant scrutiny. Under founder Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon has closely aligned itself with the Trump administration, a government that openly pursued policies hostile to European interests, from trade wars to the deliberate weakening of transatlantic alliances. The EU cannot ignore the risk that Amazon’s leadership may once again prioritise political loyalty to Washington over its obligations to the European social model. 

Most critically, Amazon’s deep entanglement with the US national security apparatus raises grave concerns about the protection of European data. AWS is a key contractor for the US government, including intelligence agencies, and we have no reason to trust that sensitive European information stored on Amazon’s servers would be shielded from American political or security interests. Given the emerging adversarial dynamics in transatlantic trade relations, allowing AWS to host critical European data poses an unacceptable risk. 

Given this context, we call on the European Commission and other relevant institutions to consider the following measures: 

• Conduct a thorough review of existing and planned public contracts with AWS. 

• Consider the company’s record on labour rights as a critical criterion in the award and continuation of such contracts.  

• Guarantee that companies refusing to negotiate or implement collective agreements are excluded from public contracts. 

• Explore the use of existing regulatory tools to ensure that public funds are not awarded to companies undermining core EU values. 

The European Union has both the duty and the means to uphold its strategic autonomy. Europe’s strength lies not only on its economic scale but in its commitment to social fairness, democratic governance and respect for human rights. Public procurement must reflect these practices. We cannot afford to place our digital sovereignty, workers’ rights and democratic values in the hands of a corporation that has repeatedly demonstrated hostility to all three.

Photo: Flickr