[frockington1]

They could probably get the American government to flex if needed. 'Drop these demands or no Aston Martin will be sold in the US'. The problem with both companies being American is that the American government can retaliate with popular support, the ads write themselves

[joshuaissac]

It depends on how far either side is willing to go. The UK is one of the few countries with which the US has an annual trade surplus ($21.8bn),[1] which is worth a lot more each year than Giphy's purchase price or even Facebook's UK revenue, so there is a lot of room for retaliation.

Traditional British media will drum up support for anti-Facebook actions, and the current UK government was elected on a mandate of defending perceived British sovereignty, with economic considerations being less important.[2] The UK government has already engaged in actions that harm its economic interests to safeguard its sovereignty.[3]

1. https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/europe...

2. https://ukandeu.ac.uk/new-polling-reveals-shift-from-immigra...

3. https://www.cer.eu/insights/ten-reflections-sovereignty-firs...