International Commerce and Artificial Intelligence after Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Some Opportunities for Foreign Businesses
President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” “(OBBBA”) (H.R. 1, 119th Cong., 1st Sess.) signed on July 4, 2025, changed taxation and rules on both domestic and foreign taxpayers, businesses and investors. Searching for some good news, this article identifies new opportunities for businesses and investors in (1) U.S. fossil energy products and services, (2) artificial intelligence tools and (3) products and services distributed in interstate sales via e-commerce. These opportunities apply to both domestic and foreign companies, subject to national security and any tariffs on goods.
Fossil-Driven Energy. The OBBBA repeals governmental funding of products and services for “green” energy programs adopted in 2022 under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The OBBBA defunds federal low-emission electricity programs and corporate climate action commitments to reduce and monitor greenhouse gas emissions. It cancels “clean energy” production tax credits for electric vehicles, qualified commercial clean vehicles, energy efficient home improvement credits and residential clean energy credits. It also promotes coal mining by requiring the Department of Energy to issue leases for coal extraction from federal lands. It repeals the aggressive federal rules (EPA and NHTSA) mandating minimal vehicle emissions. In short, gasoline vehicles, oil wells on Alaskan federal lands, coal-mining and coal-fired electric facilities are welcome, subject to tariffs.
Artificial Intelligence. The OBBA leaves some doors open for foreign providers of AI to American businesses and government.
No Moratorium on State and Local Regulation. The original Trump OBBBA would have opened the door to foreign-sourced AI services with minimal federal or state regulation. The House bill would have required that all such state laws conform to a 10-year moratorium on state regulation (with few exceptions) on “artificial intelligence models,” “artificial intelligence systems” or “automated decision systems.” There was no plan to adopt any overarching federal regulation of AI either. The Senate removed Trump’s moratorium plan, so the final OBBBA has no such moratorium.
As a result, with no overriding federal legislation on AI, there will be overlapping and conflicting state regulations governing AI. Currently, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia have adopted various laws regulating artificial intelligence. These regulations govern uses of AI in decision-making in employment, lending and insurance underwriting, potential abuses from AI-managed videos and photos and autonomous vehicles, and potential invasions of privacy. We may also expect future state regulations of AI in the fields of anti-discrimination of civil rights, safety, security, court documentation and any other areas of potential Ai “hallucinations” of fictions that could be used for fraud.
American Science Cloud. The final OBBBA establishes a “American Science Cloud” to facilitate innovation and exchanges of AI concepts amongst American researchers, academic, and private sector programs using cloud computing technologies to facilitate and support scientific research, data sharing, and computational analysis. This does not appear to invite foreign participants, but American participants might be cautious about any mandatory exchanges of information.
Governance of Federal Use of Artificial Intelligence. President Trump likes AI. In an Executive Order dated January 23, 2025 on American leadership in AI, he adopted a policy “to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.” He directed certain agencies and Presidential advisors to determine whether and how President Biden’s Executive Order 14110 of October 30, 2023 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence) might be inconsistent with Trump’s “global AI dominance” policy.
President Biden’s 2023 order focused on several key principles, including (1) safety and security, (2) responsible innovation, competition, and collaboration (tackling novel intellectual property (IP) questions and other problems to protect inventors and creators, (3) avoiding unlawful collusion and anti-competitive practices of dominant market parties, (4) commitment to supporting American workers, (5) safeguards for consumer protection against fraud, unintended bias, discrimination, infringements on privacy, and other harms from AI, (6) invasions of privacy and personally identifiable information (“PII”), and (7) promoting responsible AI safety and security principles and actions with other nations.
President Trump’s orders to override any inconsistent provisions of President Biden’s 2023 may have limited effect. Existing laws and regulations already protect key public interests, with or without AI regulation.
Federal Cybersecurity. On June 6, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Cybersecurity. He directs federal agencies to manage “AI software vulnerabilities and compromises” for vulnerability management, including through incident tracking, response, and reporting, and by sharing indicators of compromise for AI systems.” This reflects principles from the National Institute of Science and Technology “test-evaluate-validate-verify” methodology. He ordered that the Federal Acquisition Regulations be amended so that, by January 4, 2027, all vendors to the Federal Government of consumer Internet-of-Things products, as defined by 47 CFR 8.203(b), to carry United States Cyber Trust Mark labeling for those products.” This order imposes sanctions and asset blocking on foreign persons engaged in US cybercrime.
Foreign Providers of AI. For foreign AI providers, President Biden’s 2023 order would have opened the doors to foreign AI providers to the U.S. government as “dual providers” (commercial and governmental), but only if they regularly reported on training methodologies that could be used in malicious cyber-enabled activity. That order required U.S. providers of “infrastructure as a service” to ensure that foreign resellers of United States IaaS Products implement privacy tools to limit all third-party access to privacy information.
The Trump OBBBA appropriates $500 million through 2035 to modernize and secure Federal information technology systems through the deployment of commercial artificial intelligence and automation technologies for automation of decision systems and cybersecurity (Department of Commerce), and the replacement of antiquated business systems. Foreign-sourced AI is permitted under the Federal Acquisition Regulations, but might face strong domestic competition.
Promoting Low-Tax Digital Interstate Sales. Historically, consumer goods delivered from a warehouse in one state to a customer in another state constitute “interstate commerce,” which only Congress has the constitutional right to regulate. Conversely, if you “localize” by establish an office or warehouse in the consumer’s state, you are subject to that state’s local business net income tax, just like a “permanent establishment” under traditional U.S. income tax treaties.
To limit local income taxation of interstate sales of goods, a 1959 law (Interstate Income Act of 1959, P.L. 86-272) protects interstate and international businesses by prohibiting states from imposing a net income tax on a business whose activities in the state are limited to soliciting orders for sales of tangible personal property. The 1959 law was adopted before the Internet, e-commerce, digital delivery of “goods” and the like.
The Trump OBBBA will prevent states from imposing a net for income tax on businesses with employees or representatives physically engaged in the state in “any business activity that facilitates the solicitation of orders even if that activity may also serve some independently valuable business function apart from solicitation.” This vagueness will invite litigation to define the new limits on states’ taxing authority.
Foreigners in the U.S. Legal aliens will continue to have a $60,000 lifetime exclusion on federal gift and estate taxes, while U.S. citizens will have a $15 million lifetime exemption ($30 million for couples), amending IRC 2010(c)(3). Foreign business owners and investors are subject to gift and estate taxes but need to explore international tax planning techniques to mitigate such taxation.
Foreign Research and Experimentation. The OBBBA allows a new “research” deduction for U.S. businesses that hire U.S. researchers or experimental expenditures. This new section 174A does not grant any deduction for foreign research or experimentation.
Conclusion. The U.S. remains a critical market for quality foreign goods and services. This new political environment redirects these investment and commercial opportunities without regard to national source or supply chain origins, subject to tariffs and national security. Foreign sourcing may depend on localization strategies, such as mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and supply chain transparency through demonstrated and independently certified “safety” of AI tools.
This article is not legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Consult a lawyer. For further details, please contact William Bierce.