USB (Universal Serial Bus) connections and ports have become a ubiquitous item in our daily lives. Whether it temporarily storing documents on USB flash drives and other peripherals (e.g. hardwired keyboards), we all use USB connections in some capacity. The matter of USB connections would hardly be a topic that could be conceivably politicized. However, the European Union has succeeded in turning the USB ports on electronic devices into a public policy debate. Next month the European Commission intends on presenting a “draft law” that would require all electronics producers to have a “common charging interface”. This would effectively prohibit the Lightning connections utilized by iPhones. If passed all other formats other than a USB-C connection would be banned in the European Union.
The question becomes what is a USB-C connection and why is the European Union so adamant about making it the compliance standard for the continent? USB connections and ports have been in existence since 1996. One of the latest innovations in USB connections came in the form of the USB-C (software version 3.1) in 2014. The USB-C connection boasts several technological advantages USB 2.0 and USN 3.0. Some of the benefits include thinner cables, greater capacity for transmitting data, and backward compatibility. Although these are most likely not the reasons why the EU is pushing for all electronics to have the USB-C standard for charging ports. The campaign for the USB-C mandate is arguably not directed towards consumer protection. Rather is more oriented towards environmentalism. One outstanding advantage of the USB-C format is that is more durable, meaning that it will not wear out as quickly as previous models of electronic port connections. The goal of mandating USB-C connections would be to reduce the amount of E-Waste a plank in the platform of the EU’s New Circular Economy Action Plan.
This initiative brought forth by the European Commission cannot escape the potential of a Bootleggers and Baptist (1983) coalition from forming. The moralizing agent in this situation would be the European Union. Yes, there are some political gains for advocating for environmental causes. For instance, you look “progressive” and you earn the right to virtue signal. Above all, you win over the progressive vote, which is presumably sizable in Europe. The EU may be a potential Dual-Role Actor, but for the sake of clarity, let’s assign the role of “Baptist” to the EU. Who are the Bootleggers in this scenario? It is highly unlikely that no one would benefit from the EU placing such compliance requirements on the charging ports for electronic devices. Regardless of whether the regulation is purported to target consumer safety or environmentalism disparate effects are inevitable. This was an observation implicit in Yandle’s theory since the nascent period of its development. Hence why in Yandle’s seminal paper he suggests there is a “demand” for regulation among corporations. The implementation of regulations operates as a backdoor way of reducing competition without violating antitrust laws. Granted, antitrust laws in the EU are different than those in the United States; however, this is still circuitous means of subverting the legal constraints of anti-competitive market behavior among firms.
Most electronics producers are on board and have already adopted all of the purposed EU requirements; except for Apple. While other Apple products have been reformed to include USB-C ports, the iPhone still uses a Lightning connection. Apple has even openly stated that such a requirement would hinder innovation. Yet, the other giants such as Samsung have remained silent on the matter; expressing tacit agreement with the purposed EU measure. It should be noted that Apple is a major competitor in the Smartphone market. The iPhone has approximately a 50% market share of the Smartphone market in the U.S. However, the global market share is primarily held by Samsung and other competitors. Nevertheless, Apple is still a serious competitor for companies such as Samsung in the global market. The silence of other producers most likely is due to rational business interests rather than the normative virtues of environmentalism. Therefore, Apple’s competitors in the Smartphone market are the “Bootleggers” of the EU’s USB-C mandate.
Inverted logic 
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