US Vice President JD Vance warned against what he called “excessive regulation” of artificial intelligence at the AI Action Summit in Paris on Tuesday, saying the Trump administration will not accept other companies “tightening the screws” on US companies.

Vance’s address to global leaders and tech industry executives targeted Europe’s regulatory approach to AI and its moderation of content on Big Tech platforms, underscoring a widening, three-way rift over the future of the technology.

Under President Donald Trump, the US is championing a hands-off approach to innovation, while Europe is tightening the reins with strict regulations to ensure safety and accountability. Meanwhile, China is rapidly expanding AI through state-backed tech giants, vying for dominance in the global race.

“The Trump administration is troubled by reports that some foreign governments are considering tightening the screws on US tech companies with international footprints,” Vance said, adding that “America cannot and will not accept that, and we think it’s a terrible mistake, not just for the United States of America, but for your own countries.”

Vance made his first foreign trip as vice president to attend the AI Action Summit, and in his first major policy speech framed AI as an economic turning point, while cautioning that “at this moment, we face the extraordinary prospect of a new industrial revolution, one on par with the invention of the steam engine”.

“But it will never come to pass if over-regulation deters innovators from taking the risks necessary to advance the ball,” Vance added.

A growing divide

With appearances at both the AI summit and the Munich Security Conference later this week, Vance is seeking to project Trump’s forceful style of diplomacy.

The Trump administration will “ensure that AI systems developed in America are free from ideological bias,” Vance said, pledging that the US would “never restrict our citizens’ right to free speech.”

And the US was noticeably absent from an international document signed by more than 60 nations, including China, making the Trump administration the glaring outlier in a global pledge to promote responsible AI development.

The document pledged to “promote AI accessibility to reduce digital divides” and “ensure AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure, and trustworthy”. It also called for “making AI sustainable for people and the planet” and protecting “human rights, gender equality, linguistic diversity, consumer rights, and intellectual property”.

In a surprise move, China — long criticised for its human rights record — signed the declaration, further widening the distance between the US and the rest of the world in the struggle for AI supremacy.

The agreement comes as the EU enforces its AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law, which took effect in August.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that “AI needs the confidence of the people and has to be safe″, but she also acknowledged concerns over regulatory burden.

“At the same time, I know that we have to make it easier and we have to cut red tape, and we will,” she added.

She also announced that the “InvestAI” initiative had reached a total of €200 billion in AI investments across Europe, including €20 billion dedicated to AI gigafactories.