Euractiv | 5 May 2026
EU's tech sovereignty plan risks trade deal, warns US ambassador
by Théophane Hartmann
The US ambassador to the EU has warned the bloc against introducing “protectionist” rules ahead of incoming cloud and semiconductor laws – suggesting a planned tech sovereignty package could threaten the EU-US trade agreement.
Later this month the Commission is set to unveil a bundle of proposed laws that will include the Chips Act review and the Cloud and AI Development Act (CAIDA), which respectively aim to ring-fence subsidies and public procurement for homegrown companies, in a bid to stoke local infrastructure and shrink dependence on foreign tech.
But speaking in an exclusive interview with Euractiv on Monday, Andrew Puzder warned the planned approach “doesn’t sound very consistent with the EU-US trade framework agreement”.
The EU-US trade deal – aka, the July 2025 Turnberry Agreement – attempts to “eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade”, he pointed out.
Ring-fencing taxpayers money for EU companies is the “kind of protectionism” the US takes issue with, the ambassador also warned.
“I am sure that our trade representative [Jamieson Greer], our commerce secretary [Howard Lutnick] will be in direct communication with Europe to let him [Maroš Šefčovič, EU Trade Commissioner] know,” Puzder added.
When Euractiv asked whether, trade tensions between the EU and the US could rise even more than the recent surge after Trump imposed a 25% tariff on European cars last Friday, Puzder said: “I hope not.”
He added that attempts by the EU to “try and improve the competitiveness of European entities by limiting the competitiveness of US entities in Europe” is a red line for the US.
Such an approach to boosting EU companies’ competitiveness is a “failed strategy”, Puzder also said.
Deregulation
The right way to boost the EU’s competitiveness is deregulation, per Puzder, who summarised the preferred approach as “get out of the way and let the private sector do what it does”.
Deregulation is part of the EU’s commitment within the EU-US trade deal, according to Puzder, despite repeated denials by the Commission of any such rule-ripping accord with the Trump administration.
Instead of pursuing a tech sovereignty agenda, the EU “would be better” to partner with the US on developing and building AI chips and data centres, said Puzder.
“You either work with us or you don’t,” he added.
