{"id":27534,"date":"2025-04-02T06:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T04:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/?post_type=news&p=27534"},"modified":"2025-04-03T11:24:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T09:24:27","slug":"as-us-eu-trade-war-escalates-uni-calls-for-ending-amazons-access-to-eu-public-contracts","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/news\/as-us-eu-trade-war-escalates-uni-calls-for-ending-amazons-access-to-eu-public-contracts\/","title":{"rendered":"As US-EU trade war escalates, UNI calls for ending Amazon\u2019s access to EU public contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/strong> \u2014 including contracts awarded to Amazon Web Services (AWS). With reports that US President Donald Trump is set to announce a <\/span>comprehensive set of tariffs<\/span><\/a> 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\u2019 rights<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On 1 April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen <\/span>hinted<\/span><\/a> at a \u201cstrong plan to retaliate\u201d, which might target the US surplus in services by, among other measures, excluding US tech companies from public procurement contracts<\/strong>. Amazon Web Services has <\/span>received<\/span><\/a> over 1.3 billion euros<\/strong> in public contracts between 2019 and 2021 and almost 30 million euros<\/strong> for AWS contracts with different EU Directorate-Generals from 2020 to 2022.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The company has consistently demonstrated contempt for the very principles that underpin the European social model<\/strong>. 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 <\/span>survey<\/span><\/a>, 83% of EU citizens said they want union busters and underpaying companies to be excluded from public contracts<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Further, Amazon\u2019s repeated refusal to appear before the European Parliament, culminating in the <\/strong><\/span>withdrawal<\/a><\/strong> of its lobbyists\u2019 badges to the institution<\/strong>, raises serious questions about the company\u2019s 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\u2019s disregard for EU governance and accountability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The political allegiances of Amazon\u2019s leadership also warrant scrutiny. Under<\/span> founder<\/span> Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon has closely aligned itself with the Trump administration<\/strong>, 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\u2019s leadership may once again prioriti<\/strong><\/span>se political loyalty to Washington over its obligations to the European social model<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Most critically, Amazon\u2019s deep entanglement with the US national security apparatus<\/strong> 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\u2019s servers would be shielded from American political or security interests. Given the emerging adversarial dynamics in transatlantic trade relations, allowing AWS to <\/span>host<\/span> critical European <\/span>data<\/span> poses an unacceptable risk.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Given this context, we call on the European Commission and other relevant institutions to consider the following measures:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n