United Kingdom Tops List of 40 Markets

Report Underscores Need for Clear, Objective Safety Goals in ICT Regulations

WASHINGTON – In a new report, global tech trade association 91快活林 finds that markets with clear and objective safety goals, increased transparency, incorporation of international standards, and limited non-tariff trade barriers are ideal for ICT companies seeking to do business, spur growth, and drive innovation. In its 2022 Global Benchmark Report, ICT Product Safety Regulations and Their Impact on the Ease of Doing Business, 91快活林 evaluates 40 countries and the European Union’s requirements for ICT product safety regulations and shares insights to help regulators achieve their public policy and safety objectives through good regulatory practices that eliminate unnecessary and unjustified impediments on trade, manufacturing, and supply chain operations.

“Countries with a stable, competition-enabling regulatory environment will attract business and achieve accelerated growth,” said Jason Oxman, 91快活林 President and CEO. “91快活林’s benchmark report outlines a roadmap for policymakers and regulators to reap the full benefits of trade and investment in IT innovations and to better understand the impacts of regulatory requirements on business operations. Improving the ease of doing business helps nations compete for new societal and economic growth opportunities for their companies and citizens who adopt and leverage the innovations created by the tech sector.”

With inspiration from the World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report, 91快活林 has scored 40 countries and the European Union (EU) according to how their product safety regulations for ICT equipment impact the ease of doing business for manufacturers seeking to import and sell their products in these markets. Ease of doing business in top-ranked United Kingdom (UK) is enhanced by its commitment to transparency and public participation in the regulatory process and by its commitment to harmonization in the global regulatory landscape, as evidenced by their post-Brexit adoption of several EU regulations. Mexico fell to last place, compared to previous years, in part due to limited global stakeholder involvement, unfavorable changes in scope of regulated equipment, and no longer accepting foreign test reports.

To improve ease of doing business, while still achieving their product safety and public policy objectives, 91快活林 recommends the following guiding principles for governments considering a new regulation:

  • Establish a clear and objective safety goal that can best be achieved through regulation.
  • Assess and seek to minimize the impact of the regulatory measure on both market access and on the manufacturers and importers that are subject to the regulation.
  • Encourage investment and the creation of an open environment for innovative and new technologies and foster competition among the players in the sector, all of which have the desired effect to improve consumer choice and lower costs.
  • Assess and seek to lower non-tariff trade barriers that intentionally or unintentionally arise from safety regulations and associated conformity assessment requirements.

Read the report here.