Extraterritorial U.S. sanctions: only domestic courts could effectively curb the enforcement of U.S. law abroad

Abstract

The long reach of U.S. law affects persons, property, and acts around the world. In trying to shield EU-based individuals and entities with commercial interests from its adverse impact, European policy-makers have recently been exposed as more or less helpless. In order to pursue their strategic objectives more effectively, Europeans must not only focus on increasing strategic autonomy vis-à-vis the U.S. government. Absent a diplomatic agreement with the executive branch, they must also better uti­lize available channels of influence. One potential avenue would be to substantially support EU-based companies in domestic courts -both diplomatically as well as fi­nan­cially- in order to challenge the executive branch when enforcing U.S. law beyond borders. Only the judicial branch can effectively curb the extraterritorial application of U.S. jurisdiction. (author's abstract)