J.D. Vance must tell EU to not mess with us

By Paul Steidler

On Tuesday, February 11, a young American born into poverty who transcended his circumstances through grit and, in part, the opportunities in America’s tech sector will speak to world leaders about AI at a major event in Paris.

JD Vance should seize the moment to let the world know America is poised to lead on AI, to work with other countries to bring about the vast promises of AI, and that the U.S. government will not sit idly by when our tech companies are attacked.

The AI Action Summit in Paris, hosted by France and India, will feature 60 heads of state and government, including French President Macron, Indian Prime Minister Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. Hundreds of AI companies and other AI experts will attend the forum, which will run from February 6-11.

While France and the European Union have nothing sizable in the way of a vibrant AI sector, they have unbridled chutzpah in wanting to tell the world how to develop and apply AI. A political dope slap, which the Vice President is so masterful in doing, would not be out of order, but there are bigger issues to address.

In press kit materials for the event, Macron says the purpose is “to shape artificial intelligence in accordance with the universal values we (France and Europe) hold.” Another briefing item says the conference is to “Ensure global governance of artificial intelligence is effective and inclusive. All international leaders should be able to discuss all the concerns raised by AI.”

Meanwhile, France claims it is a “global leader in artificial intelligence” because since 2018 “some €2.5 billion has been deployed under the strategy to date, helping to bring about a leading global AI ecosystem.” While it is a European AI leader to the extent Europe has AI at all, the global claim is simply wrong.

Though France has raised and invested nearly $3 billion in AI since 2018, AI venture capital investments in the U.S. in 2024 were $97 billion and are expected to remain strong this year. Alphabet (Google) will make $75 billion in 2025 capital expenses, predominantly driven by AI, with Amazon set to invest $100 billion. Meta, Microsoft, and many others are also making huge investments.  

The message that Vice President JD Vance delivers should build off the recent actions and words of President Trump while making clear that the U.S. will not cede or dilute its AI leadership to anyone.  

Point one should be that the U.S. is glad to work with and collaborate with Europe in AI research and development, including providing our valuable capital for Europe. But we are driving this train and we will not allow AI model development to be encumbered by the ideological bent of European politicians.

Second, if you mess with U.S. companies, you mess with the United States. Thus, European laws and regulatory actions that aim to confiscate tens of billions of dollars from U.S. tech companies will not be tolerated. As President Trump said in his remarks to the Davos forum on January 23, this is an unacceptable “form of taxation.” For added emphasis, the President then said, “We have some very big complaints with the EU.”

Third, if Europe wants to be a global player in AI, it will need to radically reform and become more business and growth friendly. There are signs this may be happening as the EU is starting to come to grips with a stinging report from Mario Draghi, former President of the European Bank, urging the EU to become more accommodating to tech investment.

Outside the EU, the United Kingdom’s Labour government in late January removed the head of the country’s Competition and Markets Authority, acknowledging that expansive tech regulations and aggressive competition enforcement harm growth prospects. The EU and its member countries should take similar steps.

The U.S.-EU trade relationship has been, and should be, highly beneficial for the world. While it has entered tough and uncertain territory, the Vice President may be able to help Europeans see the light, by talking strongly and clearly. He should also emphasize that the U.S. has a bright AI future, with or without European help, and if the EU wishes to thrive it can best do so through a close working relationship with the U.S.

Paul Steidler is a Senior Fellow with the Lexington Institute, a public policy think tank based in Arlington, Virginia.