Jorge F. Negrete P.
President Trump will not allow the United States (US) to lose its global leadership in digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to China or Europe.
Industry-announced investments include $500 billion from SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle. Meta announced $65 billion, Saudi Arabia $85 billion; and Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta “invested a record $88 billion in AI-related capital expenditures last quarter” (Fact Sheet).
An inconceivable outpouring of capital, supported by restrictions on China’s access to next-generation processors. China lags behind the US in Generative AI but is ahead in the development of low-cost vertical AI solutions. China aims to lead AI consumption and is undertaking a massive national effort to educate its entire population on the subject. The largest and most widespread AI education and training initiative has begun.
The US response? To lead the market, control AI commercial standards, and protect its companies from Europe and other countries that attack or extort them. The US is the global leader in AI, and Trump issued several executive orders that define and drive his digital vision:
- “Defending American companies and innovators from foreign extortion and unfair fines and sanctions.” In short, any country that extorts, discriminates against, or restricts American digital technology companies through regulation, public policy, taxes, limits on free speech, or content moderation will face economic sanctions. Europe, Canada, and now Brazil are among the first to face such penalties in the form of tariffs. Canada and Europe backed down immediately.
- “Accelerating federal approval for Data Center infrastructure.” Regulations, approvals, and permits are being streamlined to promote accelerated investment in AI-focused Data Centers. This includes revisiting environmental standards. The US leads the world in Data Center creation.
- “Preventing woke AI in government.” AI will play a key role in how people acquire new skills, consume information, and go about daily life. Americans will demand reliable AI outcomes, but if ideological biases or social agendas are embedded in AI models, distorting the quality and accuracy of results, the government will only support technology that maintains technological and ideological neutrality.
- “Promoting the export of US AI technology.” The US will preserve and expand its AI leadership and reduce global dependence on technologies developed by its adversaries. This Executive Order is an arsenal of resources designed to align the supply and packaging of AI technologies for export, sales, protection, identification of target countries, markets, regions, clients, trade barriers, and to propose favorable regulatory frameworks for the adoption and use of American AI. It wants nothing to do with European regulation—it will propose its own.
China’s response came swiftly. The Cyberspace Administration proposed a global-facing regulation that promotes “scientific and technological cooperation, a political environment that favors innovation, stronger policy and regulatory coordination, and collaboration in technology and research. It aims to reduce and eliminate technological barriers.” A clear affront to the US.
Doreen Bogdan, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), emphasized the need to establish a global regulatory framework before irreversible harm occurs. She warned that disparate approaches—like the US free market model, the European regulatory model, and the Chinese system—are insufficient on their own. What’s needed is for those approaches to enable dialogue.
The US is investing, defending its companies, and pushing to set the global standard for AI.
Mexico now has the historic opportunity to draw closer to the US.
President of Digital Policy & Law
X / @fernegretep