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iPhone Glass Supplier Corning Faces EU Antitrust Probe
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EU laws and regulations apply in the EU, not in the US nor Korea nor China or anywhere outside of the EU. Tell me why the EU has the "right" to tell companies who are located outside the EU what component suppliers to use?
They're not telling anyone to use any specific supplier.
They're telling the supplier that they can't forbid their customers from buying from other suppliers.
and their customers are not EU companies, they are US, Korea, China etc. It is none of the EU's business to get involved in that.
It is up to those customers if they suspect anti-competitive behavior to involve their local authorities and let them deal with that.
Worth noting that the article does not make mention of businesses that may be affected. I can't imagine that there are zero businesses in the EU that use glass in one way or another.
Moreover, if Corning does business in the EU, that business subject to EU law. In this case, Article 102 of TFEU. Examples A and C stand out to me in this instance.
Is the EU Commission not the local authority within the EU?
Which EU company makes mobile phones, in the EU?
The text vaguely calls out “glass” in smartphones.
So yes, if a EU company is indeed impacted, then yes, EU commission can investigate.
But again, they have no right to investigate Cornings business with eg Apple or Samsung.
And I agree, if a US company does business in the EU, they need to obey EU laws/regulations, and vice versa.
There’s been a long dispute between Qualcomm and Apple with Apple saying (in simple terms) that QCOM is charging too high a license fee for their modems - shouldn’t the EU get involved in this? One can assume that we as customers pay for that license fee and thus lower fee would result in lower price for an iPhone? Can’t wait for the EU to get involved in that…
The iPhone is designed in America and assembled in China. What business is it of the EU what suppliers are used when all this is taking place beyond their borders? Is there some EU-based company who is being shut out of contracts and has to go running to the government and crying mommy?
Outside of the EU, funding competition, or providing tax breaks to those that are trying to build manufacturing capacity is what usually works. However, the EU can’t fund any glass makers because there’s none in the EU, they can’t provide tax breaks to companies that aren’t building manufacturing capacity in the EU. They’ll do their investigating, they’ll charge a fine (which, after 10 years or so, may not ever be paid) and, in the end, the number of companies that produce glass will remain the same. Much like how the smartphone OS market in the EU has gone from 2 to 2.
So if you spend millions or more, creating some awesome life changing product, I can freely take your idea and sell it on the market without having never spent a dime in development, other than buying one of whatever it is your making, so I can copy it? 🤔
If you want to sell products in the EU, you must follow EU regulations. It doesn’t matter where the product is manufactured.
When EU companies want to sell to the US, they must follow US regulations too, including regulations on how the product is designed, which patents are in place etc. The consequence of your suggestion would be that for example Chinese companies would be free to sell anything to US consumers with complete disregard to US safety regulations, patents, design protections etc.
They are "exporting the freedom" in other countries... Does it sound strange or new to you?
Dear Macrumours and members,
I believe you are in a process to alienate European readers with your constant one sided digging up what EC does towards US companies. There is no balanced reporting about what EC does towards European companies or what USA does towards European companies, especially outside of the tech bubble. Ergo it is a one sided story without context and surprisingly many endorse that story without critical thinking or understanding the context.
It is less and less interesting to follow MR due to increased US nationalism and protectionism and it is dissapoinitng that the editorial team takes an active part to support that agenda. I follow MR to discuss Apple products, not to be trashed for being an European who believes in law, order and decent business practices.
Is this what you really want? Alienate the Europeans?
PS. This post will probably be deleted by MR and heavily downvoted by Americans but so be it.DS
I believe you are in a process to alienate European readers with your constant one sided digging up what EC does towards US companies. There is no balanced reporting about what EC does towards European companies or what USA does towards European companies, especially outside of the tech bubble. Ergo it is a one sided story without context and surprisingly many endorse that story without critical thinking or understanding the context.
It is less and less interesting to follow MR due to increased US nationalism and protectionism and it is dissapoinitng that the editorial team takes an active part to support that agenda. I follow MR to discuss Apple products, not to be trashed for being an European who believes in law, order and decent business practices.
Is this what you really want? Alienate the Europeans?
PS. This post will probably be deleted by MR and heavily downvoted by Americans but so be it.DS
Surrreeeee.
The EU has been stealing money from Apple and others in the form of ******** charges and retroactive fines for years now. And if you think they're investigating Corning to "not cash in on it" I have a bridge I'd love to sell you.
Thanks for clearing that up. I feel every time someone reads "EU" people immediately assume the EU tries to dissolve competitiveness. Competitiveness means that new companies can start innovating and such agreements simply mean unless you're s big tech company you could never buy into the parts you need to become competitive
Exactly this, but the problem still is that without patents, companies wouldn’t innovate and are more likely to focus on preventing others from copying their work. They might resort to measures like DRM or implementing systems that prevent the use of third-party parts, for example.
At the same time, patents often hinder progress by keeping others out for at least a dozen years until they expire.
The complete opposite would be an invention that is state-owned and shared with other companies, but that might slow progress even further, especially in countries that don’t support a fair, free economy.
Wow... just reading some of the comment here, it's clear people aren't reading the article, or choosing to misinterpret it because they hate the EU.
Nearly everybody uses Intel chips, Intel tells Dell that they will sell them their chips but only on the condition that Dell don't put AMD chips into any of their computers. Intel have no right to do that they have used their dominant market position to essentially blackmail Dell, and block competition, leading to unfair monopolistic practices... Microsoft tell Dell you can have Windows at a massive discount but only if you don't offer Linux or any other OS on your computers, again they are using their dominant position to destroy competitors and this is anti-competitive behaviour.
Corning are doing exactly the same thing. This needs to be called out and this needs to be stopped. Good on the EU.
Nearly everybody uses Intel chips, Intel tells Dell that they will sell them their chips but only on the condition that Dell don't put AMD chips into any of their computers. Intel have no right to do that they have used their dominant market position to essentially blackmail Dell, and block competition, leading to unfair monopolistic practices... Microsoft tell Dell you can have Windows at a massive discount but only if you don't offer Linux or any other OS on your computers, again they are using their dominant position to destroy competitors and this is anti-competitive behaviour.
Corning are doing exactly the same thing. This needs to be called out and this needs to be stopped. Good on the EU.
The EU can dictate how products are made when they are sold in the EU. The US dictates safety standards for cars sold in the US. Bumper and front end design to lessen pedestrian injuries, airbags, backup cameras, etc. Car companies from anywhere in the world must abide by those rules if they want to sell in the US. This is true of any product made outside of the US but sold in the US. How are people not getting this?
Possibly.
Like Elon came running to Daddy Don?
No one had been charged or fined here.
And it‘s very simple to avoid such charges or fines:
👉 Invent, innovate, make good products at good prices and compete!
“We’re so big and important in the industry that customers have to use our products anyway today - so we contractually
👉 That is not (fair) competition
I’m not sure it’s just misreading or misinterpretation, to be honest.
I wouldn’t be surprised is a meaning if a substantial part of these people actually support such anticompetitive conduct and celebrate it as the American way of “free enterprise”.
It is not Mac rumors that is doing the alienation, it is the EU itself. They are creating a business hostile environment with their socialist like policies.
I find these stories interesting because it shows the intense swing toward making “a fair business environment” into one littered with socialist like policies.
Corning should have just negotiated a volume price with the best price at 100% of the expected product run.
Without patents there is little incentive to create something useful if anyone can simply knock it of cheaper. Patents have a limited life to allow the holders the opportunity to profit off their work while eventually opening up the invention to anyone.
It is not hard to successfully guess where most of the dislike comments come from.
Eventually the EU regulators will succeed in stiffling innovation and encouraging international companies to not come to Europe or cease investing there.
Perhaps the idiot President to be could use some of his brute charm to influence this kind of garbage.
Eventually the EU regulators will succeed in stiffling innovation and encouraging international companies to not come to Europe or cease investing there.
Perhaps the idiot President to be could use some of his brute charm to influence this kind of garbage.
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The issue here isn't that an iPhone made with said brand of glass is failing to meet a safety standard somewhere. It's still an excellent piece of technology, just that it's not made with EU-based technology. I don't see Dave2D or MKBHD dinging the iPhone over this either. It's not even clear whether an iPhone made with some other brand of glass originating from the EU would be any better in quality or durability.
The iPhone is presumably assembled with corning-made glass (from the US) in China before being imported into the EU. The EU has no jurisdiction in any of these places, any more than I have the power to censure you for not wearing a certain brand of underwear.
Is the EU going to ban the import of iOS devices that don't use protective smartphone glass from its own local companies or levy tariffs on them?
Is the EU going to try and levy a worldwide fine on any EU-based subsidiaries of Corning Glass which I suppose could just move out of the country?
I am not exactly sure what the EU is hoping will happen here.
I can assure you, Apple is not being forced to use Corning’s product.
Apple wants to use the product and wants a better price. Corning says, “I’ll give you a better price if you..” and before they complete the sentence, Apple’s tossing buckets of money shouting “JUST TAKE THE MONEY1!”The regulators in the EU (ESPECIALLY Vestager) don’t understand the intricacies and nuances of such deals because they’ve never experienced a thriving productive tech industry. Corning didn’t open up shop yesterday with the deals that exist currently. They’ve put years and years (very likely aided by government grants/subsidies/tax credits) into making a product and continually improving that product. Companies use Corning because they obtain test samples, run those tests and confirm that it performs as well as expected or better.
There’s little competition because it’s hard to do what Corning does without invalidating Corning’s patents. And, JUST like with the App Store, the agreements Corning has currently HAD TO BE APPROVED BY THE EU! The EU reviewed the contracts and said everything was ok. Corning, of course, went forward because the EU said “ok”, then Vestager comes along and reneges on those prior agreements.
By the way, Vestager lost her position because even the EU thought she was going too far.