The Berne Convention says that US copyright law applies to US works, worldwide. Other countries' rules apply to their works, worldwide, as well - but the EU made it life-plus-70 in 1993 - a decision made, in part, because of the way the US does things.
So it's not that US law applies to other works, it's that it applies to US works everywhere, and other countries' laws apply to their works everywhere, and changes to US law in this matter tend to get reflected in other countries' laws sooner or later.
(The real reason for the continual copyright extension is simple: Mickey Mouse. The laws in the US will continue to change, to extend copyright indefinitely, every time Mickey Mouse approaches the Public Domain. Why? Because Disney is a megacorp and they own senators.)
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Doe US copyright law apply to the whole world or something?
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So it's not that US law applies to other works, it's that it applies to US works everywhere, and other countries' laws apply to their works everywhere, and changes to US law in this matter tend to get reflected in other countries' laws sooner or later.
(The real reason for the continual copyright extension is simple: Mickey Mouse. The laws in the US will continue to change, to extend copyright indefinitely, every time Mickey Mouse approaches the Public Domain. Why? Because Disney is a megacorp and they own senators.)