BRUSSELS, March 7 (Reuters) - Europe's new tech rule

aims to keep digital markets open and is not targeted at U.S.

tech giants, EU antitrust and tech chiefs told U.S. congressmen,

reminding them that U.S. enforcers have in recent years also

cracked down on these companies.

The comments by EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera and EU tech

chief Henna Virkkunnen came after U.S. House Judiciary Chair Jim

Jordan and Scott Fitzgerald, chairman of the subcommittee on the

administrative state, regulatory reform and antitrust demanded

clarifications on the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

"The DMA does not target U.S. companies," Ribera and

Virkkunnen wrote in a joint letter dated March 6 to Jordan and

Fitzgerald seen by Reuters.

"It applies to all companies which fulfil the clearly

defined criteria for being designated as a gatekeeper in the

European Union irrespective of where they are headquartered,"

they said.

Ribera and Virkkunnen also dismissed criticism that the DMA

hinders innovation.

"By preventing gatekeepers from engaging in unfair practices

vis-à-vis smaller companies, the DMA keeps the door open to the

next wave of innovation in vital digital markets," they said.

They pointed to similar concerns of unfair practices that

led to U.S. antitrust investigations and lawsuits filed under

the first Trump administration and other recent actions against

Alphabet's Google, Amazon ( AMZN ), Apple ( AAPL ) and

Meta Platforms ( META ).

Ribera and Virkkunnen also rejected claims that EU antitrust

fines are a form of European tax on American companies. U.S.

President Donald Trump in a memorandum last month threatened to

impose tariffs against countries which impose fines on U.S.

companies.

"The objective of DMA enforcement, as in any other piece of

EU law, is to ensure compliance - not to issue fines. Possible

sanctions, also common to U.S. laws and regulations, are not an

end in themselves but a prerequisite for credible engagement,"

they said.