The path to the greatest technological advancements and innovation has never been charted by government bureaucrats, regulatory agencies, or politicians, but by the creative minds of a robust private sector driven by the incentives of free-market capitalism.
That was the win President Trump celebrated on Friday, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios convinced the G20 Innovation Ministerial, including China, Russia, and members of the European Union to adopt a policy of non-regulation when it comes to emerging technology, most particularly artificial intelligence. The agreement, titled the Carolina Principles, prioritizes investment in research, accelerates commercialization, and fast-tracks the deployment of emerging tech.
🚨 PRESIDENT TRUMP JUST DROPPED:
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 4, 2026
“We are NUMBER ONE in Tech, and NUMBER ONE in A.I. — BY A LOT! The World is learning from the BEST. Other Countries should follow our lead!” 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/0kSmbgIqLY
"Very productive and historic two days at the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina — A truly GREAT State — Home of the Research Triangle, World Class Universities, and some of the smartest, hardest working people anywhere in the World. INNOVATION is BACK at the G20! Countries from all over the World now understand that Innovation means GROWTH, and Growth means Prosperity," the president wrote on Truth Social.
"Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios, led a tremendously successful meeting of Business and Technology Ministers. They got the group to A STRONG CONSENSUS, which is NOT an easy thing to do," he added. "Everyone agreed on the Carolina Principles: INVEST, BUILD, COMMERCIALIZE, and DEPLOY Emerging Technologies. SMART Rules and Standards, NOT more Regulation. We are NUMBER ONE in Tech, and NUMBER ONE in A.I. — BY A LOT! The World is learning from the BEST. Other Countries should follow our lead! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
The Carolina Principles didn’t just call for a free-market approach to the technology of humanity’s next age, they also committed signatories to target specific issues with regulation, rather than adopting the heavy-handed regulatory approaches common among our European allies.
This comes as much of the economic growth the United States has seen, from manufacturing to trades to tech, has emerged from the rapidly expanding field of artificial intelligence and related infrastructure including AI data centers.
Why does this matter? Because the difference between a thriving economy and a stagnant one often comes down to a single question: Who drives that progress, an egotistical all-powerful government or the private sector? History has a clear answer, and it’s one that should give pause to every policymaker tempted to reach for the regulatory instinct.
As world renowned economist Milton Friedman put it:
"The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way."
"The only cases in which the masses have escaped from [that] kind of grinding poverty...the only cases in recorded history, are where they have had capitalism and largely free trade…there is no alternative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by the free-enterprise system.”
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
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