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] Kenya is expected to pay its biggest bilateral lender China Sh109.4 billion in 2021, including maturities of the loans for the second phase of the standard gauge railway to Naivasha.
[New] The Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Rule is California's Clean Truck Standard and creates fleet reporting standards and requires zero-emission truck sales to rise to 55% of Class 2 b-3 truck sales, 75% of Class 4-8 straight truck sales, and 40% of truck tractor sales by 2035.
[New] South Africa's ruling party is hoping that Congress will approve a constitutional amendment in 2021 outlining the situation where land could be confiscated without compensation.
[New] South Africa's ruling party expects parliament to approve a constitutional amendment in 2021 outlining the circumstances under which land can be expropriated without compensation.
[New] Massachusetts lawmakers on Monday passed sweeping climate legislation that sets a statewide net zero limit on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, includes new renewable energy targets and efficiency standards, and codifies environmental justice provisions into state law.
[New] In good news, dairy farmers have until the end of 2021 to prove they are no longer killing male calves on-farm under new rules which will apply to nearly all UK farms from this month.
[New] The Biden administration could go even further and immediately rescind the global gag rule, permitting beneficiaries of USAID funding to promote reproductive rights, offer comprehensive sexuality education, and protect other sexual rights.
[New] Elections - Some countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam will be conducting their general elections in 2021 while the Philippines is set to hold national elections in 2022.
[New] Economic setbacks in 2021 and Turkey's poor Covid response will leave President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struggling to win back voters disillusioned with his two-decade rule.
[New] $225 million will be withheld until the secretary of state certifies and reports to Congress that the Egyptian government has taken steps to improve the rule of law, democratic institutions, and human rights.
[New] More and more cryptocurrency companies will join the unicorn club, Coinbase will conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021, and it is expected that more companies will begin to explore overseas backdoor as a way to go public.
[New] In late 2019, the federal government proposed a clean fuel standard, a regulatory approach to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 million tonnes annually by 2030, through increased use of lower-carbon fuels, energy sources, and technologies.
In the United States, Boeing's CST-100 Starliner will conduct a second uncrewed test flight in March in advance of a first crewed test flight in summer 2021.
Construction products in Northern Ireland will continue to need to meet EU harmonised standards (including any new standards the EU adopts over the coming years).
The total number of exercises of the Armed Forces of Ukraine differs slightly, but the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will conduct more than 50 drills in 2021.
The end of free movement of financial services - worth £126bn to the British economy - means City firms will have to comply with varying rules across different EU states.
Significant changes to the rules and guidance in Wales have been made this week, and the Welsh Government has also released its Coronavirus Control Plan, which details what we can expect in 2021.
Even though Russia's economy has undoubtedly taken a blow - it is projected to contract by around 4-5 per cent in 2020 - the overall damage appears to have been less severe than that in many other countries, and even less than in Russia itself during the 2008 financial crisis.
New rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, expected to roll out over the next few years, aim to provide greater health care price transparency to empower consumer choice and encourage industry competition.

Last updated: 14 January 2021

Standards

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