• Justin
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    5 months ago

    This seems to be referencing Regulation (EU) 654/2014, an EU law which allows the EU to unilaterally enact countermeasures against countries that break the WTO’s rules.

    The countermeasures listed in article 5 are:

    • Imposing tarriffs and customs duties
    • Trade restrictions/quotas
    • Cancelling contracts between the EU and the target country
    • Cancelling the target country’s intellectual property rights (e.g. patents/copyrights)
    • Banning public procurement from the target country
    • Implementing price penalties for public procurement from the target country

    The law was amended in Regulation (EU) 2021/167 in response to the Trump (and now Biden) administrations blocking the appointment of judges to the WTO and using a loophole to kill the WTO’s enforcement mechanism.

    More context from the EU parliament:
    https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2020/652021/EPRS_BRI(2020)652021_EN.pdf

    The fact that the EU can just suspend American patents and copyrights is pretty insane. Could be some huge benefits for European companies and movie pirates.

    • KnoLord
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      565 months ago

      Thanks for context!

      I hope that as soon as the US will act more iffy, these countermeasures will kick in, as even the US should know then that they aren’t all mighty.

      I don’t know if you have more info, but are these measures reversible or absolute?

      • Justin
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        325 months ago

        The regulation text says that the measures are enacted by the European Commission putting out an implementing act. Article 7 says that they may repeal the implementation if the third country resolves the conflict. So it seems that they can only remove the measures if the third country gives up.

    • atro_city
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      155 months ago

      The EU would need to have the balls first. USAian propaganda has seeped into this continent for so long that it has affected the populace deeply. If the EU did something to threaten iPhone, WhatsApp, or Starbucks availability in the EU, that would be cause for an uprising.

      • @Brainsploosh@lemmy.world
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        735 months ago

        Lol, did you notice you can opt out of tracking cookies on Meta, or that iPhones have USB-C connectors?

        EU regulations got some pull. And also give a fair few fines.

        • atro_city
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          75 months ago

          What’s cited is a little bit more than those regulations, homie.

          • @Brainsploosh@lemmy.world
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            455 months ago

            Agreed, and as EU has a history of enforcing regulations, even against the “untouchables” you mentioned, I have expectations that they will again.

            • atro_city
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              135 months ago

              I can only hope so. Given the right rot in the Union though, I’m doubtful.

      • Justin
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        115 months ago

        Signal is simply just better than whatsapp, and I don’t think starbucks would be affected. I guess Apple could OTA brick iphones though, true.

        • @scutiger@lemmy.world
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          85 months ago

          Imagine if you could open up your own Starbucks anywhere in the EU, including using logos etc. without having to deal with franchising from an American company.

            • @scutiger@lemmy.world
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              25 months ago

              I don’t drink coffee, so I can’t speak for its quality, but my understanding is that Starbucks is pretty popular.

        • @DdCno1@beehaw.org
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          25 months ago

          Signal has better privacy and that’s why I’m using it, but that’s where the advantages end. It’s far less reliable. Most people are using WhatsApp.