America charts ‘fundamentally divergent path’ from EU on AI with new action plan

Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan, released by the White House on 23 July, outlines the US government’s strategy to secure global leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) by accelerating innovation, building domestic infrastructure and leading in international diplomacy and security around new developments.

The action plan states that “to maintain global leadership in AI, America’s private sector must be unencumbered by bureaucratic red tape.”

According to the plan “President Trump has already taken multiple steps toward this goal, including rescinding Biden Executive Order 14110 on AI that foreshadowed an onerous regulatory regime. AI is far too important to smother in bureaucracy at this early stage, whether at the state or Federal level.” 

“The Federal government should not allow AI-related Federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations that waste these funds, but should also not interfere with states’ rights to pass prudent laws that are not unduly restrictive to innovation.”

This statement mirrors a recent move by the Republican party in the US to stop states, through wording contained within the Big Beautiful Bill, from legislating AI development, which was removed from the final legislation that is now law.

Cerys Wyn Davies, an expert in AI and intellectual property law at Pinsent Masons, said: “The US approach, as we know, charts a fundamentally divergent path in AI governance from the EU.

The US administration is prioritising deregulation, innovation and national security while the European Union is focused on regulatory certainty and a risk-based approach. This action plan builds on the Executive Order signed by President Trump in his first days in office, calling for the US to lead the global race for AI and commissioning the preparation of this action plan.”

The action plan says that the four most important policies are exporting American AI, rapidly building up data centres, enabling innovation and adoption and ensuring ‘free speech’ in AI models. It said that “it is also essential for the US government to effectively address security risks to American AI companies, talent, intellectual property, and systems.”

Mark Ferguson, a public policy expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “For global businesses, this means navigating an increasingly divergent regulatory landscape across the world. Understanding the governance landscape where a business is rolling out AI use may be critical to gaining a competitive edge and market access.”