AI governance splits trade
The U.S. and Europe are taking divergent approaches to AI — the U.S. favors a permissive, market-led path while Europe’s complex, risk-based rules are moving slower and straining to keep up (fortune.com). At the same time AI is now the single largest driver of global trade growth and public sentiment is souring — a McKinsey-style shift in commerce meets a Quinnipiac/LA Times‑noted backlash, and “AI sandboxes” are increasingly proposed as a regulatory compromise ( ).
Fortune’s March 31, 2026 feature on transatlantic AI policy was written by Francesca Cassidy and frames the divergence in approaches as a growing commercial fault line. (dc.fortune.com) Former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi urged a pause to parts of the EU’s AI Act on Sept. 16, 2025, calling its current implementation “a source of uncertainty.” (euronews.com) A McKinsey Global Institute analysis cited by multiple outlets found shipments of AI hardware rose roughly 40% in 2025 and that AI-related goods accounted for about one-third of global trade growth last year. (thehindubusinessline.com) The McKinsey reporting also says AI supply chains remain heavily concentrated in Asian manufacturing hubs while new trade flows increasingly follow geopolitical blocs. (euronews.com) A Quinnipiac poll reported by the Los Angeles Times on March 31, 2026 found 55% of Americans now say AI will do more harm than good in their daily lives, an 11-point rise from the previous April. (latimes.com) The hyperscalers’ capex push is massive: Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft have signaled roughly $650 billion in combined AI-related capital expenditures for 2026 to expand data centers, chips and networking. (bloomberg.com) The EU’s AI Act explicitly mandates Member States to establish at least one regulatory AI sandbox operational by Aug. 2, 2026 under Article 57, creating a legal route for controlled testing of systems. (ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu) States and jurisdictions are racing to build sandboxes as practical compromises: Delaware launched a state sandbox in July 2025, Texas’s TRAIGA program allows testing up to 36 months, and commentators say sandbox schemes are proliferating amid debate over their tradeoffs. (news.delaware.gov) (bubecklaw.com) (forbes.com)
