According to Ryan, \u201cDutch company ASML commands a global monopoly on the microchip-etching machines that use light to carve patterns on silicon,\u201d and Nvidia needs those machines if it wants to remain the world\u2019s most valuable company. Should the US GDP remain reliant on AI investment for growth, von der Leyen could use export curbs on that technology like a \u201clever,\u201d Ryan said, controlling \u201cwhether and by how much the US economy expands or contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Withholding those machines \u201cwould be difficult for Europe\u201d and \u201cextremely painful for the Dutch economy,\u201d Ryan noted, but \u201cit would be far more painful for Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another step the EU could take is even \u201ceasier,\u201d Ryan suggested. It could go even harder on the enforcement of tech regulations based on evidence of mismanaged data surfaced in lawsuits against giants like Google and Meta. For example, it seems clear that Meta may have violated the EU\u2019s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), after the Facebook owner was \u201cunable to tell a US court<\/a> that what its internal systems do with your data, or who can access it, or for what purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis data free-for-all lets big tech companies train their AI models on masses of everyone\u2019s data, but it is illegal in Europe, where companies are required to carefully control and account for how they use personal data,\u201d Ryan wrote. \u201cAll Brussels has to do is crack down on Ireland, which for years has been a wild west of lax data enforcement, and the repercussions will be felt far beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking that step would also arguably make it harder for tech companies to secure AI investments, since firms would have to disclose that their \u201cAI tools are barred from accessing Europe\u2019s valuable markets,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n Calling the reaction to the X fine \u201cextreme,\u201d Ryan pushed for von der Leyen to advance on both fronts, forecasting that \u201cthe AI bubble would be unlikely to survive this double shock\u201d and likely neither could Trump\u2019s approval ratings. There\u2019s also a possibility that tech firms could pressure Trump to back down if coping with any increased enforcement threatens AI progress.<\/p>\n