Operates in American ways (4)
I believe the answer is:
uses
'operates' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'american ways' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'us'.
'ways' becomes 'es' (east and south - two directions).
'us'+'es'='USES'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for uses that I've seen before include "Sues (anag.)" , "Exercises" , "Functions, applications" , "Customs" , "deployments" .)