Regulatory Warfare: B2B Information Companies as Strategic Allies

“Regulatory warfare” is the defining challenge today, say Substribe. And B2B information providers can be strategic allies, equipping clients with the tools to navigate, anticipate, and profit from this new reality.

Success boilds down to helping customers:

• Anticipate (e.g. predict policy shifts before they happen)
• Adapt (e.g. offer modular, jurisdiction-specific solutions)
• Arm (e.g. turn compliance from a cost center into a growth engine)

What is “Regulatory Warfare”?

Regulatory warfare describes the strategic use of laws, standards, and compliance requirements to:

Disrupt adversaries (e.g. China’s export controls on rare earth metals critical for Western tech). Countries using rules like weapons to help their own companies or hurt others.

Advance national interests (e.g. MAGA related Acts to counter China’s ambitions).

Shield domestic industries (e.g. EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism penalising imports from carbon-lax regions).

Put simply, imagine a game where every country makes up its own rules. One team bans plastic cups. Another team says, “No! Plastic cups are fine, but you can’t use metal spoons.”

Players get confused. Fights break out.

Why it’s happening:

• Climate rules: Some countries want strict pollution laws. Others ignore them.

• Tech battles: Countries fight over who controls AI, chips, or data.

• Trade wars: Taxes on imports or bans on foreign goods to protect local jobs.

Example:

• The EU says, “All companies must report pollution data.”

• The US says, “Reporting is optional.”

• Companies get stuck obeying both – or neither.

The role of B2B Information Companies…

The customers of information companies want to survive and thrive in this rule chaos.

• In a recent interview, a senior executive explained, “My role is to read between the lines. I use external information to help me.”
• Data is not enough, reading between the lines requires context and insight.

This is your opportunity. B2B information companies (like yours) sell maps, tools, and guides for their customers.

How can you help businesses navigate our messy world? Because when you do it right, you win. If you don’t, they’ll find someone else.

How to Win the Regulation Wars

Step 1: Turn Rules into Simple Stories

People hate confusing laws. Be the translator.

• ❌ Bad: “CSRD mandates double materiality ESG disclosures.”

• ✅ Good: “Make a report showing how your company hurts – AND helps – the planet.”

Example: A farming company uses your tool to auto-generate reports for Europe, Asia, and Africa. One click, done. Useful communication pulses around their organisation, with your subscription brand seen by lots of eyeballs.

Step 2: Predict the Next Rule Change

Don’t wait for laws to hit. Guess them first.

• Watch what politicians argue about.

• Use AI to spot patterns (e.g., “Germany keeps talking about x – expect new laws soon”).

Example: You warn fleet managers: “India will tax gas engines next year. Switch to electric now.”

Step 3: Build Tools for Every Battlefield

Rules change by country. Your tools should too.

• Like video game levels: Easy mode (basic rules), Hard mode (strict rules). Let customers pick.

• Example: A coffee company uses your “EU mode” for strict packaging laws and “US mode” for simpler ones.

Step 4: Sell Trust

Companies fear fines and shy from inaccuracy. Be their safety net.

• Show proof: “Our data comes from 10,000 government websites – updated daily.”
• Inject context: “Our community believes this is a major risk impact – this is why.”

• Add alarms: “Alert! New Brazil rule in x days – update your reports now”

Examples of supporting clients

• Company A: Sells a “Rule Radar” tool that predicts law changes x months early.

• Company B: Turns climate laws into simple workflow – “Stress test your approach to new standards to avoid fines.”

• Company C: Lets companies test products in a “virtual country” to see if and how they break rules.

How to Win

• Simplify – Make rules easy to understand.

• Predict – Anticipate new laws before they happen.

• Adapt – Build tools that work everywhere.

• Protect – Be the trusted guide.

Why This Works: Businesses don’t want to be rule experts. They want to focus on their version of selling toys, apps, coffee, or whatever.

Take the burden off their shoulders.

Actions for B2B info providers

1. Build War Rooms: Dedicate teams to track regulatory shifts in real-time (e.g. AI-powered policy monitoring).
2. Partner with Governments: Co-develop standards (e.g. ESG frameworks with EU agencies) to shape rules.
3. Acquire Niche Players: Buy startups specializing in high-stakes areas (e.g., carbon credit verification, sanctions analytics).

Actions for Corporate Clients

1. Demand Predictive Tools: Require vendors to provide forward-looking regulatory intelligence, not just historical data and the methodology to understand the reasoning.
2. Diversify Compliance: Avoid overreliance on single-region solutions (e.g. dual-reporting for EU and US ESG rules).
3. Treat Compliance as Strategy: Embed regulatory teams in C-suites to turn rules into competitive advantages.

Key Insights:

1. Regulatory asymmetry is intensifying as nations weaponise rules to protect industries, stifle competitors, or assert dominance (e.g. EU’s AI Act vs. US deregulation).
2. Compliance is now a battlefield, with corporations caught in crossfire between conflicting regimes (e.g. CSRD in Europe vs. voluntary ESG disclosures in the US).
3. Winners will sell “armour” and “intelligence”—tools to navigate, anticipate, and profit from regulatory chaos.

Want to win? Substribe create a click between teams and their customers. Contact andy@substribe.co