Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Xstrata, Peabody Energy and Anglo American have all declared force majeure, a legal clause that allows them to miss supply contracts due to extraordinary circumstances.

FORBES: Asian Steel Mills Scramble For Supplies After Australia's Flooding

But just as the American government used the constitution's interstate commerce clause to expand its powers, so the European institutions have exploited single-market rules to extend their responsibilities into such areas as social policy, welfare and the environment.

ECONOMIST: Fit at 50? | The

That is why the American government is opposing, among other things, a clause that would ensure that consumers could sue businesses in the courts of the country where the consumer lives.

ECONOMIST: Stop signs on the web