Abstract
President Trump’s Executive Order 14179: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence issued in January 2025, indicates a significant shift from the United States’ alignment with EU AI and Digital policies. Replacing former President Biden’s EO 14110, which emphasized the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI, interagency coordination, and oversight, the new directive favors deregulation, industry-led innovation and securing US global AI dominance. Grounded in America First principles, Executive Order 14179 signifies a clear departure from multilateral AI cooperation, raising significant concerns about the future of AI development and deployment. This article examines the implications of Executive Order 14179 through five dimensions: regulatory alignment disruption, governance fragmentation, corporate compliance burdens, ethical oversight erosion, and geopolitical norm-setting capacity. It argues that the US’ pivot weakens the evolving foundations of multilateral efforts on AI governance and suggests that both the US and EU embrace a more agile approach that balances principled commitments to human rights and ethics with pragmatic flexibility to foster both innovation and interoperable AI governance.
Recommended Citation
Terre Lundy
(2025)
"Navigating Divergence: Principle or Pragmatism? The US’ Executive Order on AI and its Implications for US - EU Governance,"
The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development: Vol. 10:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/agsjournal/vol10/iss1/5