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What’s the situation when two (ostensibly friendly) superpowers, the US and EU, have totally mutually incompatible laws regarding something totally transnationa

What’s the situation when two (ostensibly friendly) superpowers, the US and EU, have totally mutually incompatible laws regarding something totally transnational? I’m not asking rhetorically, I’m asking legally, what is a company to do if they want to do business in both locations?

Mirioron 6y ago
My guess is that they have to compartmentalize the operation. Essentially, it'll have to be like region-locking in video games, where you make different changes to the product for each region.
kd5bjo 6y ago
Depending on the nature of the conflict, it might not be possible at all. Countries generally reserve the right to control both what crosses and happens within their borders- that’s more or less the definiton of sovereignty. If two countries have mutually-exclusive regulations regarding some goods, there isn’t a legal trade in those goods between them.
- mratsim 6y ago
  I guess it's time for github.eu
mnw21cam 6y ago
That basically almost already happened with the Microsoft case a while back. The US government asked Microsoft US to give it some data that was held by a subsidiary (call it Microsoft EU) in Ireland. It went quite high up in the US courts, because it was illegal for Microsoft US to not hand over the data, but also illegal for Microsoft EU to hand over the data. But basically because the company was split along jurisdiction lines, there was the possibility for Microsoft US to tell Microsoft EU to hand it the data, Microsoft EU to say no, and Microsoft US to say to the US government "Well, we tried."
Nasrudith 6y ago
I can think of the German Cococola as one precident even if it is more local. Embargoes forced the German branch to split and develop their own independent supply chains. They remerged when possible. Effectively the solution has been an effective hard split into two companies one for each set of laws. They certainly have to sever monetary and organizational ties to not locally be engaged in conspiracy. Without coordination or assistance they have no responsibility to tbeir illegal twin abroad. They do what they can get away with locally and relying upon their counterpart's enforcement failures abroad. It may be illegal but if they are in another superpower's territory entirely they are protected. Being fully lawful to both at once was precluded so they effectively become mirror universe versions of themselves lawful in one and scofflaw in the other. Other less shady alternative approaches include withdrawing from one superpower and shifting their business entirely or simply deciding to dissolve themselves entirely and distribute their assets to the shareholders.

Mirioron 6y ago

My guess is that they have to compartmentalize the operation. Essentially, it'll have to be like region-locking in video games, where you make different changes to the product for each region.

kd5bjo 6y ago

Depending on the nature of the conflict, it might not be possible at all. Countries generally reserve the right to control both what crosses and happens within their borders- that’s more or less the definiton of sovereignty. If two countries have mutually-exclusive regulations regarding some goods, there isn’t a legal trade in those goods between them.

mratsim 6y ago
I guess it's time for github.eu

mnw21cam 6y ago

That basically almost already happened with the Microsoft case a while back. The US government asked Microsoft US to give it some data that was held by a subsidiary (call it Microsoft EU) in Ireland. It went quite high up in the US courts, because it was illegal for Microsoft US to not hand over the data, but also illegal for Microsoft EU to hand over the data. But basically because the company was split along jurisdiction lines, there was the possibility for Microsoft US to tell Microsoft EU to hand it the data, Microsoft EU to say no, and Microsoft US to say to the US government "Well, we tried."

Nasrudith 6y ago

I can think of the German Cococola as one precident even if it is more local. Embargoes forced the German branch to split and develop their own independent supply chains. They remerged when possible. Effectively the solution has been an effective hard split into two companies one for each set of laws. They certainly have to sever monetary and organizational ties to not locally be engaged in conspiracy. Without coordination or assistance they have no responsibility to tbeir illegal twin abroad. They do what they can get away with locally and relying upon their counterpart's enforcement failures abroad. It may be illegal but if they are in another superpower's territory entirely they are protected. Being fully lawful to both at once was precluded so they effectively become mirror universe versions of themselves lawful in one and scofflaw in the other. Other less shady alternative approaches include withdrawing from one superpower and shifting their business entirely or simply deciding to dissolve themselves entirely and distribute their assets to the shareholders.