Latest news with #regulatoryreform
Arab News
2 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan launches new agri-trade authority to promote modern agriculture
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has established a new regulatory body to reform its agriculture sector and bring domestic food safety standards in line with international requirements, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Monday. The new National Agri-Trade and Food Safety Authority (NAFSA) has been set up under a reform drive led by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a civil-military hybrid body formed in 2023 to fast-track foreign investment and economic reform in strategic sectors, including agriculture, mining, IT and defense production. NAFSA consolidates the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) and the Animal Quarantine Department into a single authority aimed at promoting modern agricultural practices, reducing excessive chemical use and facilitating trade in agricultural products. 'The establishment of the new body, by merging DPP and Animal Quarantine, is an important milestone toward development of agriculture sector,' the APP report stated. The report did not provide further details on NAFSA's governance, regulatory powers and rollout timeline. Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Pakistan's economy, employing nearly 38 percent of the workforce and contributing around 19 percent to the country's GDP. However, the sector has long faced challenges, including outdated practices, poor regulatory oversight, low export competitiveness and barriers in meeting international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards. By centralizing regulatory oversight and compliance, the government hopes NAFSA will address long-standing inefficiencies and support value-added agricultural exports. 'NAFSA is aimed at introducing modern agricultural systems according to global standards,' the APP said. 'It will help reduce unnecessary use of Methyl Bromide, saving up to forty thousand rupees per container.' Methyl Bromide, a fumigant used to control pests during export processing, has been heavily restricted under global environmental protocols due to its ozone-depleting properties. NAFSA's efforts to limit its use are expected to improve both environmental sustainability and export cost efficiency. The move aligns with broader reforms spearheaded by the SIFC, which was formed through a civil-military consensus to fast-track investment decisions, cut bureaucratic delays and attract foreign capital, especially from Gulf and Chinese partners, to priority sectors. 'Transparency and innovation is being promoted in the agriculture sector with the support of the SIFC,' the APP report said.
Forbes
7 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Regulatory Reform In The Old Dominion
Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia While the Trump administration is getting kudos for slowing the pace of new regulations, it is too soon to judge its efforts to roll back excessive rules from the past. In part, this is because revising rules takes time and cannot be regarded as complete until the dust settles on the ensuing litigation. As it continues its efforts, the administration might look for inspiration from Washington's neighbor to the south. The Commonwealth of Virginia is undertaking an ambitious regulatory reform agenda aimed at modernizing its regulatory framework, streamlining permitting, and ensuring regulations produce worthwhile public benefits. Yesterday, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that the state had surpassed his target of cutting regulatory requirements by 25%. On taking office in 2022, Youngkin established a new Office of Regulatory Management (ORM), initially led by former federal Environmental Protection Agency head Andrew Wheeler and now directed by Reeve Bull. Bull served for more than 10 years as an attorney and research director with the Administrative Conference of the United States and brings deep federal experience to the role. ORM is patterned after the U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget; it is responsible for providing guidance to state agencies for conducting benefit-cost analysis of new regulations and for reviewing regulations before they are published to ensure they offer net public benefits. The requirement to conduct regulatory impact analysis of new regulations is a longstanding policy of the federal government and other developed countries and it's essential for sound, evidence-based policy. But it is not sufficient, in part because it evaluates new regulations one at a time without considering their cumulative impact, and in part because it is conducted before a regulation is issued, when estimates of benefits and costs are necessarily speculative. To address this problem of ever-accumulating regulations and lack of retrospective evaluation, ORM is working with agencies across the Commonwealth to identify outdated, duplicative or unnecessarily burdensome rules. This resulted in the 26.8% reduction in requirements the Governor announced yesterday. Virginia defines requirements as commands in regulatory text, such as 'shall,' 'must' or 'may not.' To illustrate, the event highlighted one regulatory change that allows businesses to harvest rainwater for non-potable uses, such as toilets, reducing costs and reducing reliance on scarce environmental resources. Not satisfied with a 26.8% reduction, Virginia is now harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to identify existing regulatory requirements that go beyond those established by authorizing statutes. While AI has occasionally been found guilty of hallucinating legal authorities, the same may be said for agencies, so this effort could identify further requirements to modify or update. Permitting reform is another cornerstone of Virginia's effort. The Virginia Permit Transparency website aims to make the permitting process more accessible and understandable to the public. By digitizing and centralizing permit information, the website makes it easier for individuals and businesses (especially small entities) to navigate regulatory requirements. A pilot by Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality reportedly reduced its average permit processing time by more than 65%. ORM estimates that its efforts to date have resulted in $1.2 billion in annual savings for Virginians, or an average of $380 per household. Virginia's approach may do more to reduce unnecessary existing red tape than President Trump's policy of eliminating 10 rules for every new one issued. As I have noted, his first term's two-for-one policy served more to slow the issuance of new regulations than actually remove many existing ones. Whether Virginia can maintain this momentum remains to be seen. Its governors can only serve one consecutive term, and Governor Youngkin has only six months left in office. The next governor could revoke his executive orders and reverse some of these policies. Indeed, the executive order that established ORM and requires regulatory analysis expires in June 2026. However, the success of the regulatory management institutions and practices may encourage future governors to continue them. At the federal level, presidents of both parties have reaffirmed the importance of benefit-cost analysis and cross-cutting regulatory oversight. ORM's emphasis on interagency collaboration, public engagement, and data-driven decision-making should have bipartisan appeal, especially if they deliver real value to citizens.
Forbes
7 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Virginia Shows A Smarter Path To Regulatory Reform
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin speaks at an event on July 8th to announce achieving a 25% ... More reduction in state regulatory requirements. Governor Glenn Youngkin's recent announcement that Virginia has surpassed its 25 percent regulatory reduction goal marks a decisive moment not just for the Commonwealth, but for the national conversation around government reform. While the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—the flagship of President Trump's second-term administrative overhaul—has generated the most headlines with its dramatic cuts to federal staff and contracts, it is Virginia's quieter, evidence-based approach that may deserve the spotlight. Virginia Surpasses Targets with Real, Measurable Gains On July 8, Governor Youngkin announced that the Office of Regulatory Management (ORM), which he established by an executive order in 2022, had reduced 26.8 percent of regulatory requirements in the Virginia Administrative Code, yielding more than $1.2 billion in annual savings for Virginians. ORM also worked with state agencies to cut 11.5 million words from state guidance documents—a 47.9% reduction. This strategy has produced concrete results. For instance, reforms to Virginia's Building Code lowered the cost of constructing a new home by over $24,000. This single change is expected to save Virginia homebuyers $723 million per year. Faster licensing at the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation has cut approval times from 33 days to just five, yielding $179 million annually in additional worker earnings. Updates to stormwater permitting processes have produced another $124 million in savings, while a new Virginia Marine Resources Commission's general permit framework reduced costs by $47 million. These reforms, which have been supported by an updated cost-benefit analysis framework, have reduced costs but also improved policy delivery. A new Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT) portal, launched in 2024, tracks over 100,000 permits issued annually, enabling agencies and the public to monitor applications. Since its implementation, the Department of Environmental Quality has slashed average processing times by 70 percent. How Virginia's ORM Compares to the Federal DOGE These successes are not cherry-picked anecdotes. Rather, they are part of a consistent pattern of measurable administrative savings across agencies. In contrast, DOGE—helmed by Elon Musk and charged with eliminating waste at the federal level—has taken a sledgehammer approach. DOGE has aggressively targeted agency budgets, slashed staffing levels, cancelled grants, and rescinded contracts. Agencies like USAID have seen sharp staff reductions, and programs touching diversity, foreign aid, and climate change have all faced steep cuts. While DOGE's interventions may yield modest budgetary savings, its approach has been criticized for its volatility and bluntness. There is little in the way of systematic regulatory review or analysis. Moreover, as of mid-2025, DOGE's focus has remained largely fiscal. Regulatory streamlining, let alone comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, has not been a centerpiece of its strategy. DOGE may be bold, but Virginia's ORM is smart. Where DOGE has wielded a chainsaw, ORM has used a scalpel. The Case for Evidence-Based Regulation A fundamental distinction between DOGE and ORM is epistemological. ORM's reforms are grounded in economic analysis. Each proposed rule must be subject to a cost-benefit analysis and demonstrate efficacy. Agencies consider distributional impacts on families, small businesses, and local governments. This is not red tape for red tape's sake. Instead, it's a set of economic and legal requirements to ensure that regulation serves the public interest without imposing unjustified burdens. Furthermore, ORM's reforms have sped up and improved governance. Despite new layers of analysis, average gubernatorial review time for regulations fell from 80 days to under 10 days. This counterintuitive result underscores that better analysis can speed up, rather than delay, decision-making. DOGE's strategy, by contrast, has eschewed such analysis in favor of immediate disruption. While that may appeal to voters hungry for change, it is a fragile strategy prone to backlash. Regulatory reforms that balance costs and benefits are more likely to prove enduring than ones that just reduce headcounts or eliminate programs for the sake of doing so. Without stakeholder buy-in, even highly significant short-term changes are unlikely to last. Permitting Reform Is A Bipartisan Revolution in the Making Virginia's VPT portal and Youngkin's accompanying Executive Order 39 are emblematic of ORM's more pragmatic approach. Permitting reform is one of the most discussed yet under-delivered policy reforms today. Delays in permit approvals stymie housing development and energy and infrastructure expansion. By digitizing the permitting process and making it more transparent, Virginia is making inroads towards reducing these bottlenecks. The VPT portal now covers permits from agencies representing most of the state's environmental and public infrastructure footprint. The website provides Gantt charts showing each application's progress on the way to obtaining a permit. This level of transparency is absent even in federal permitting dashboards. Toward a Sustainable Reform Agenda Compared to DOGE, Virginia's ORM operates on a more lean budget and staff—just four full-time employees oversee the Commonwealth's regulatory streamlining. Yet their influence has been profound. This raises the question as to why more states haven't adopted such a model. One reason may be the ephemeral nature of executive orders. ORM, for all its successes, is not yet codified in law. A change in administration could unravel its progress overnight. As other states look to Virginia as a model, they too should consider institutionalizing reform efforts to guarantee durability beyond one political cycle. Conclusion: The States as Laboratories of Bureaucracy Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously called states the 'laboratories' of democracy. Virginia is a great example of a laboratory of bureaucracy. The Commonwealth's methodical approach to regulatory modernization offers a replicable model for states and the federal government too. As President Trump's DOGE winds down its high-profile crusade against government waste, policymakers should ask themselves whether spectacle alone is enough. Cutting for the sake of cutting is not reform—it is performance. Virginia's success proves that a quieter, more technocratic approach grounded in expertise, transparency, and responsiveness to evidence can deliver greater and more lasting returns. As the 2026 gubernatorial elections approach in states across the country, legislators would do well to examine Virginia's model. With billions in savings and a more accountable administrative process, ORM may very well be the most important government reform initiative you haven't heard about.
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Post-Brexit export drive hampered by UK trade finance regulations, ICC warns
Britain's financial regulators are failing to push through vital reforms needed to unlock some £22 billion (€25.5 billion) in trade finance for small businesses, the UK branch of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has warned. In a letter to the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the ICC said there was an 'urgent need' for reforms to regulations governing the raising of trade finance that is key to underwriting global transactions. The letter warned that the 'antiquated' regulatory framework for trade finance offset the benefits of a new law introduced in 2023 to digitise the paperwork for exporting. 'These gains are negated by an antiquated regulatory framework that remains bureaucratic and inefficient, with laborious compliance checks and overburdensome capital requirements,' wrote ICC boss Chris Southworth to the FCA's chief executive Nikhil Rathi. READ MORE However, the FCA and PRA both pushed back against the criticism, saying they have already proposed an easing of compliance and capital rules in key areas of trade finance. The ICC's intervention comes two weeks after the UK government published a trade strategy that promised to boost the country's flagging trade performance since Brexit. [ EU blocks Britain's attempts to join pan-European trading bloc Opens in new window ] The group has been lobbying in recent years for an overhaul of the Basle 3.1 bank capital rules and expressed frustration that regulators have not moved fast enough, despite pressure from chancellor Rachel Reeves this year for them to take a more pro-growth stance. Mr Southworth said moves by regulators to rework Basle 3.1 regulations ahead of an implementation deadline at the start of 2027 were too slow and insufficiently far-reaching. How the wealthy are buying up land to avoid inheritance tax Listen | 22:03 'Reforms must be accelerated and deadlines brought forward to ensure the benefits are realised within this Parliament,' he wrote. 'It is time for greater ambition and a smarter, more agile regulatory framework.' The ICC said the UK, despite being a hub for global trade finance, had fallen behind competitors including Hong Kong, India, UAE and the US, which all 'have more agile and responsive regulatory frameworks'. It wants to see a lighter touch regulatory regime, with onerous 'know your customer' rules streamlined, and a lowering of the capital requirement threshold for trading SMEs. These would help reduce the £22 billion UK 'trade finance gap' between gap between the demand for trade finance and the amount of financing actually available, it said. [ Brexit was 'single stupidest thing a country's ever done' Opens in new window ] The FCA said it was already considering easing its compliance rules on financial transactions. In response to prime minister Keir Starmer's request for ideas to support economic growth and competitiveness, the authority said in January it would discuss ways to relax 'anti-money laundering' checks on smaller transactions. 'Our letter to the prime minister set out one potential way of reducing anti-money laundering costs by relaxing know-your-customer checks on small transactions,' the FCA said. 'We are testing this idea with the government.' The PRA also rebuffed the criticism, pointing out that it had proposed a reworking of bank capital requirements to loosen them on lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and on trade finance, partly based on information provided by the ICC. 'As announced earlier this year, we plan to implement Basle 3.1 rules, including those relevant to trade finance, on 1 January 2027,' the PRA said. 'This date was chosen to give firms sufficient time to implement the final rules themselves.' 'Our implementation of Basle 3.1 is designed to lessen burdens on trade finance by reducing capital requirements for some relevant exposures, and incorporates feedback provided by the ICC in the consultation period,' the authority added. The Department for Business and Trade said its new trade strategy would help UK business succeed in the global market. It added: 'The UK plans to implement these reforms in January 2027, giving our firms certainty to plan for the future and allowing more time for greater clarity globally.' – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Reuters
25-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: US exchanges, SEC in talks to ease public company regulations
NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. exchange operators are in talks with the Securities and Exchanges Commission on easing regulatory burdens for public companies, as they seek to encourage more richly valued startups to list, according to four people familiar with the matter. These deliberations, the details of which are reported here for the first time, involve the SEC, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. The reforms under discussion range from reducing the quantum of disclosures and the costs of going public to making it harder for minority investors to agitate, the sources said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly. The talks, which the sources said have been ongoing for several months, come amid a renewed push to ease regulations under President Donald Trump, whose administration has said, opens new tab it wants to do so to spur economic growth. Taken together, some market experts said these discussions could mark the most significant push to introduce regulatory reform for companies since the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in 2012, and build on efforts seen during Trump's first term. "The numbers are very clear that companies are staying private longer," Nasdaq President Nelson Griggs told Reuters. Griggs said the exchange operator has discussed making public markets more attractive with regulators in Washington but did not specify which agencies. "We need to make the public markets attractive because that is really how you democratize access to these companies. So it's a big focus of ours," Griggs said. Nasdaq has publicly made the case, opens new tab for easing burdens by using remedies such as the modernization of the process for proxy filings. In a statement to Reuters, Jaime Klima, general counsel of NYSE Group, said the exchange will "continue to advocate for our listed companies with regulators and policymakers.' "We strongly believe that effective and efficient regulation is key to maintaining the attractiveness of our markets," Klima said, without specifying any specific discussions ongoing. The SEC, led by new chairman Paul Atkins, said it is looking to ease rules that can impede capital formation. "The SEC is considering addressing regulatory burdens that undermine capital formation, including (ensuring) that initial public offerings are again something companies are eager to do," a spokesperson for the agency said. The SEC did not comment on specific discussions it has held with exchanges and other stakeholders. However, relaxing rules around disclosure requirements and reducing costs of going public or remaining listed often come at the expense of investors, who face heightened risk of loss when regulations are cut, experts say. 'Historically, investors and issuers have viewed the U.S. capital markets as the best in the world. That's because of the regulatory system,' said Jill Fisch, a University of Pennsylvania professor of business law. 'It's because if there's full information markets function better. Securities are priced more accurately. That's good for everyone." The discussions zero in on regulations that make it harder for companies to list and then stay public, according to the sources. One area in focus is an overhaul of current proxy processes, which involves information that companies have to provide shareholders to allow them to vote on various matters. The reform would make it harder for activist shareholders with small stakes to launch proxy contests and curb repetitive proxy proposals from minority investors, the sources said. It would also lead to less onerous disclosure requirements in preliminary proxy filings, according to the sources. Another effort involves making it less expensive for companies to list on exchanges and remain public by reducing fees associated with listing, the sources said. The conversations also include making it easier for companies that went public through deals with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) to raise capital, the sources said. In recent years, the SEC had cracked down on SPACs, in which a firm goes public by selling itself to a listed shell company, as a work around listing regulations. The rollbacks would also make it easier for public companies to raise capital by selling additional shares through follow-on offerings, they said. Public companies have witnessed a buildup in disclosure requirements since the landmark 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley law. Periods of market stress, such as the 2008 global financial crisis, the SPAC boom and meme stock trading in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, led to heightened regulatory oversight of corporate behavior. The SEC has over the years increased disclosure requirements on a variety of issues, including climate, cybersecurity, risk factors, and proxy reporting, according to capital markets experts. For instance, when Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab went public in 1980, its IPO prospectus was 47 pages, according to a copy of the prospectus. That compares with a current typical IPO prospectus of 250 pages, including significant generic language around risk factors, said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida. There have been previous efforts to roll back regulation for public companies. The JOBS Act helped facilitate confidential IPO filings that allow companies to submit their registration paperwork privately to the SEC, away from the scrutiny of investors. Rollbacks also happened during President Trump's first term when then SEC chair Jay Clayton pushed for a lighter touch on regulation, including curbing some provisions of major laws such as the Dodd-Frank Act. Since 2000, the number of public companies listed on U.S. exchanges has declined 36% to 4,500, according to figures compiled by Nasdaq. The increase in regulations and decrease in public companies has been criticized by leading Wall Street executives such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, opens new tab and Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin, opens new tab. Some companies have chosen to stay away from IPOs to avoid what they see as onerous disclosure requirements, additional regulatory scrutiny, and the costs associated with going public, said two people familiar with the matter, citing Elon Musk's SpaceX as being reluctant to list. SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, easing regulatory burdens may not result in an overnight change. "Do I think there's going to be a bull rush to the door for IPOs because of the rulemaking (from the SEC)? Probably not," said Dave Peinsipp, co-chair of the global capital markets group at law firm Cooley. He said it would be heavily dependent on returns and valuations companies can get.
