Standards

WHAT'S NEXT?: Improving standards are likely to be driven more by business and technological improvement than governments in the future. The latter will be under severe pressure to cut bureaucracy, speed policy making and improve their nation's productivity performance.

• [New] Pickup trucks that do not have enough U.S. or North American content under NAFTA rules could be hit with a crippling 25 percent tariff.
• [New] By pulling out of trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and shunning groups such as the G-7 last weekend, experts said Trump is pulling the U.S. away from writing key trade rules that will structure the developing global economy.
• [New] The strong presence of social democrats in the new German government add further hope of agreement between Berlin and Paris.
• [New] Most experts expect sales to surge in coming years in response to tighter pollution standards in Europe and Chinese government mandates.
• [New] "Changing customer behavior and demands" will have the biggest impact on retail banks in the years till 2020.
• [New] In April, the Federal Communications Commission proposed new rules that would bar purchases by government programs from companies that it says pose a security threat to U.S. telecoms networks.
• Food safety standards could be put at risk by Brexit if the UK quits the EU without a deal to keep exchanging information on public health issues.
• The number of new global regulations has tapered off this year and 2018 is expected to be a time of calibration and implementation rather than revisiting rules and regulations.
• The DoE's new rules for battery charging systems will ensure all products manufactured or imported into the U.S. are designed to operate efficiently and to waste less energy.
• The Trump administration's proposal to lower fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks will force U.S. households to spend approximately $1,000 more on gasoline every year.
• Analysis by the Scottish Government suggested that a "hard" Brexit scenario where trade falls to WTO rules relative to the UK keeping EU membership could reduce the size of the Scottish economy by 8.5 per cent and lead to a drop in business investment by 10.2 per cent by 2030.
• A decline in investment within Canada will have negative effects on the Canadian economy, as investment is critical to making workers more productive, increasing wages and improving living standards
• The US under the presidency of Donald Trump will no longer take the lead in pressing for new free-trade agreements and multilateral trade rules.
• On trade the EU has been striking deals with partners like Canada and Japan that will boost growth and spread European standards.
• Automakers that do not comply with tougher U.S. or North American content and wage rules could face 2.5 percent tariffs on cars or sport utility vehicles shipped to the United States from Mexico.
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently advocated that the US will "crush" Iran with economic and military pressure unless it changes its behavior in the Middle East.
• The impact of Brexit on UK agricultural trade will depend on any trade deal negotiated with the EU and will have different impacts across different sectors under different scenarios.
• GDPR will set new standards for Internet of Things data collection and processing within the EU.
• Facebook does not expect a massive impact on global usage or revenue from either Cambridge Analytica or the May arrival of new EU data-collection rules.
• Trump's vision of repealing two federal rules for any new regulation enacted could dampen any enthusiasm for introducing new standards.
• NAFTA 2.0 includes expansive rules concerning "regulatory cooperation" that could require Canada, the U.S., and Mexico to use burdensome and industry-dominated procedures for forming new regulations.
• Australia will require ships carrying live cattle and sheep exports to have an independent observer to ensure welfare standards.
• There is a real risk that the UK becomes a second tier country behind the US and the EU with the launch of new medicines being delayed due to different regulatory rules.

Last updated: 21 June 2018