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] Opposition MPs have warned that trade deals typically take years to conclude and the UK risks defaulting to World Trade Organisation rules at the start of 2021, potentially leading to damaging tariffs for some industries.
• [New] According to the latest status report from the White House, the administration has eliminated $50.9 billion in regulatory costs since 2017: In the coming year, additional savings of $51.6 billion are forecast, including easing automotive fuel economy standards.
• The Information Commissioner's Office's new rules, known as the Age Appropriate Design Code, still need to formally pass the UK Parliament but are expected to be in force by next year.
• The new Brexit rules are expected to be imposed by 2021, two years earlier than promised by Theresa May, giving businesses and workers less than a year to prepare for a major overhaul of the immigration system.
• California state lawmakers will consider a bill this year that would require dentists to conduct in-person exams before approving orthodontic treatment.
• Jack Wittels, Alex Longley, Bloomberg Quint Ships Set to Burn Raw Crude Oil to Beat New Clean Fuel Rules For almost three years, the oil industry has been puzzling over how to supply merchant ships with fuel that will meet tough new environmental standards.
• Verity Ratcliffe, Bloomberg Middle East Shipping Hub Pledges Gentle Start to New 2020 Fuel Rules The world's oil tanker owners can breathe a sigh of relief: a vital Middle East shipping hub is going to start enforcing sweeping new rules on the sulfur content in vessel fuel gradually.
• During 2020 the CBI will focus on regulated entities' ability to identify market conduct risk, how they are governed to control wholesale market conduct risk, and how conduct-specific information is communicated across regulated entities and groups.
• A significant part of expected UK emissions reduction to 2030 - the Committee on Climate Change puts it at 50 per cent - is through areas covered by EU legislation and regulation, such as energy efficiency and vehicle emissions standards.
• Ships installed with exhaust gas cleaning systems, known as scrubbers, are expected to burn 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) in 2020 when the new rules from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) start.
• High-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO), essentially the leftovers of an oil refiner's output, will still flow from refineries around the world even after new rules start up in 2020 curtailing its use in the global shipping fleet.
• Multiple oil refineries in Europe will be too unprofitable to continue trading once the industry has dealt with sweeping new rules governing shipping fuel that start next year.
• Goldman Sachs on Wednesday revised down its oil demand forecast for this year, but expects it to recover in 2020 supported by global economic growth, new maritime rules and more normal weather conditions.
• Traders were hopeful the first half of 2020 will bring a major boost for marine gasoil demand as new International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules prohibit ships from using fuels containing more than 0.5% sulphur, compared with 3.5% through the end of December.
• Since the refinery and petrochemical unit will be producing low sulphur fuel, the Zhanjiang complex will have an edge over other units as the global marine fuel emission rules set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are going to be more stringent starting next year.
• Basrah Heavy yields a large proportion of high-sulfur fuel oil when processed in simpler refineries, and under the IMO 2020 rules ships without pollution-reducing kits will be banned from using fuels with a sulfur content of more than 0.5%.
• Unlike Europe, gas demand in Asia is forecast to carry on increasing over the next 20 years due to rising populations and increasing energy demand as living standards improve.
• By 2021, StradVision will have nearly 7 million vehicles on the world's roadways using SVNet software, which is compliant with standards such as Euro NCAP and Guobiao in China.
• Recommendation algorithms built into the drive-through menu boards have generated larger orders: By the end of the year, the new system is expected to be in place at nearly every McDonald's drive-through in the United States.
• McDonald's self-service kiosks can be applied throughout all US restaurant places by 2020, which might scale back the necessity to hire as many human cashiers.
• McDelivery launched in the U.S. in 2017, with partners including Uber Eats, and is expected to be a $4 billion business for both McDonald's and its franchise restaurants globally this year.
• McDonald's self-service kiosks will be implemented across all US restaurant locations by 2020, which could reduce the need to hire as many human cashiers.
• Burger King operates 7,330 restaurants in the U.S. as of December 31, 2018: If the burger chain hits its target of nationwide distribution by the end of this year, it will represent Impossible Foods' largest restaurant distribution channel to date, by far.

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Last updated: 13 February 2020