I don't get your irony. Yes EU companies are smaller, do the fines are proportionally smaller, but they are held up to the same standard and fined as well. It's not some hidden scheme to extract money from the US.
The limits are conveniently set so that the law doesn't apply to most EU companies. Only 4/25 included companies are EU (and 3/4 of those are porn, Booking.com isn't).
Edit: it's definitely worse if you go deeper into the rabbit hole. Sister legislature, Digital Markets Act:
Booking.com insisted on the fact that it is one of the only European companies that is a global success and that as they are not the most dominant actor in this sector, they should not be disincentivized while competing with bigger companies.
So yeah, "please only punish non-EU companies" definitely sounds like a trade barrier.
Treating fines on US companies as a tariff means we should also count Volkswagen $4.3 billion fine for Dieselgate as a hidden tariff. Do you agree with that?
But specifically when it comes to tech (which is overwhelmingly US companies), there is a massive imbalance. Tariffs are one mechanism by which that imbalance can be tilted.
"EU privacy regs are just laws you can choose to follow if you don't want to get fined!" Yes, and tariffs are laws you can choose to follow (by producing US market products in the US) if you don't want to get fined.
Again, US companies will also need to pay tariffs on imported goods, so it's not just targeted at EU companies. It's a tariff on geographic production.
I don't agree with much of this administrations policies, but to claim the EU hasn't created an imbalance in the way it extracts "fines" from US tech companies (and the incentives around that) doesn't reflect reality.
AGAIN, I don't agree that either the EU fines or US tariffs are a good idea. But the logic of using a tariff to correct this imbalance is sound.
Great example. Your government has decided they will levy additional fees for parking in geographic areas deemed undesirable. This is also what a tariff does for manufacturing (US firms also have to pay tariffs on imported goods).
In fact, every EU big tech company has already been fined a trillion EUR! All 0 of them.
I don't get your irony. Yes EU companies are smaller, do the fines are proportionally smaller, but they are held up to the same standard and fined as well. It's not some hidden scheme to extract money from the US.
The limits are conveniently set so that the law doesn't apply to most EU companies. Only 4/25 included companies are EU (and 3/4 of those are porn, Booking.com isn't).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Services_Act#Large_onl...
Edit: it's definitely worse if you go deeper into the rabbit hole. Sister legislature, Digital Markets Act:
Booking.com insisted on the fact that it is one of the only European companies that is a global success and that as they are not the most dominant actor in this sector, they should not be disincentivized while competing with bigger companies.
So yeah, "please only punish non-EU companies" definitely sounds like a trade barrier.
I see this devolving into a circular argument.
But you can rebrand tariffs as “fines” all you want.
When they’re applied wildly disproportionately to certain firms in a certain industry from a certain 3rd party country…it’s a defacto tariff.
I know this view is common in the US but the EU fines all kinds of companies - European and not - large amounts for various violations.
Just 3 days ago it was almost $500 million to various car manufacturers, the biggest piece to Volkswagen. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_...
In 2021 it was $900 million to Volkswagen and BMW https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/sv/ip_21_...
In 2019 it was $370 million to automotive suppliers: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/sk/ip_19_...
In 2016 it was $3 billion to truck manufacturers: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_16_...
That list keeps going. And these are just the EU actions. National governments have their own enforcement. Germany fines Volkswagen for another billion in 2018: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jun/13/vw-fined-1b...
Treating fines on US companies as a tariff means we should also count Volkswagen $4.3 billion fine for Dieselgate as a hidden tariff. Do you agree with that?
Yes, both Europe and the US fine companies.
But specifically when it comes to tech (which is overwhelmingly US companies), there is a massive imbalance. Tariffs are one mechanism by which that imbalance can be tilted.
"EU privacy regs are just laws you can choose to follow if you don't want to get fined!" Yes, and tariffs are laws you can choose to follow (by producing US market products in the US) if you don't want to get fined.
Again, US companies will also need to pay tariffs on imported goods, so it's not just targeted at EU companies. It's a tariff on geographic production.
I don't agree with much of this administrations policies, but to claim the EU hasn't created an imbalance in the way it extracts "fines" from US tech companies (and the incentives around that) doesn't reflect reality.
AGAIN, I don't agree that either the EU fines or US tariffs are a good idea. But the logic of using a tariff to correct this imbalance is sound.
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The other day I got a massive tariff from the police, alleging that my parking was somehow wrong. This is a free country, I can park where I want.
Great example. Your government has decided they will levy additional fees for parking in geographic areas deemed undesirable. This is also what a tariff does for manufacturing (US firms also have to pay tariffs on imported goods).
Let’s continue down the circular argument drain!
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Have you tried a reciprocal tariff?
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