The writer is a former US trade representative
European regulators have taken aggressive action against US technology companies for years, levying or threatening billions of euros in fines on Intel, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Qualcomm and Amazon. These actions now look to be only the opening salvo. Over recent months, EU leaders have unveiled an ambitious agenda aimed at limiting US technology under the banner of securing European “digital sovereignty”.
This incipient techno-nationalism threatens both US and European interests and must be stopped. In her inaugural speech to the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, signalled the EU’s protectionist objectives in bold terms. “We must have mastery and ownership of key technologies in Europe,” she said, naming quantum computing, artificial intelligence, blockchain and critical chip technologies as examples.