BRUSSELS — The European Union knew its €890 million fine against Google risked poking the bear in Washington. And the timing couldn’t be worse.

President Donald Trump, who’s lashed out at previous EU fines against U.S. tech companies, is in the final hours of deciding a new regime of tariffs, expected when a temporary 10 percent levy is due to expire Friday. That hastily imposed global tax on imports was imposed after the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down Trump's “Liberation Day” global tariffs in February.

The fear in Europe is that Thursday’s fine — the highest-ever imposed for violation of the EU’s signature Digital Markets Act that regulates major tech platforms — could trigger Trump to respond in what he sees as a tit-for-tat trade war.