Regulatory Environment

1. Regulatory Environment Priyadarshini

2. Regulation refers to "controlling human or societal behavior by rules or restrictions.“ • Regulation can take many forms: legal restrictions promulgated by a government authority, self-regulation, social regulation (e.g. norms), co-regulation and market regulation.

3. Common examples of regulation include attempts to control market entries, prices, wages, pollution effects, employment for certain people in certain industries, standards of production for certain goods, the military forces and services. The economics of imposing or removing regulations relating to markets is analysed in regulatory economics.

4. International business confronts home , national & international laws

5. International laws • The purpose of the regulation is to ensure equality and justice in society by framing laws, acts, and regulations. As the labor laws of various nations differ an authority is required to regulate matters relating to employment and labor at the international level. The International Labor Organization has laid down many laws and guidelines to regulate labor matters in the international trade.

6. India has a number of laws dealing with labor matters, These laws aim at providing give legal and corporate status to workers, protecting their health, safety and welfare, giving them proper benefits in case of sickness, maternity or any injury, to ensuring that they receive regular and prompt wages and other benefits. All those countries (including India) which have strict laws are now liberalizing the norms to suit the changing conditions.

7. Discrimination at the work place is very common in all parts of the world. This issue has been addressed by the United Nations at the international level. In the US it is considered illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of gender, race, etc. A number of laws cover the issue of discrimination in employment in India.

8. The disparity in the laws of various nations relating to environmental protection and increasing cross-border trade has led to many differences between them. Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) have formed under the WTO to deal with issues relating to the environment. Apart from them, a number of conventions and programmes have been conducted to ensure a clean and safe global environment.

9. Intellectual property rights are given to those who have invented a new method or technology useful to the entire society or to those who have created an original artistic or literary work. Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) are formed by the WTO to regulate issues relating to intellectual property at the international level. Intellectual property rights cover trademarks --- those marks which help customers identify a genuine product from a fake one); copy rights—(the rights given to any original literary or artistic work in tangible form); patents – (given for any new invention or innovation which is beneficial to society)

10. License is an official sanction given by the government to import certain goods which are under the trade block. The regulations related to product promotion differ from country to country and from commodity to commodity. International marketers should thoroughly understand the norms and regulations of the foreign country before entering its market. The culture, beliefs, and language of the people should also be taken into consideration apart from the laws of the country.

11. Similarly, regulations related to securities differ between nations. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates all the issues related to securities in the US, while the Securities Exchange Board of India deals with all issues related to the capital and money markets in India. Similarly, the Financial Services Agency in Japan, the Federal Institution for Supervision of Financial Service in Germany, the Financial Services Authority in UK, the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong etc are the regulatory authorities in their respective countries

12. Product safety & standards • If you are a supplier or manufacturer you have an obligation to ensure that you market only safe products. You must ensure that your products meet relevant safety standards, provide clear instructions for proper use and include warnings against possible misuse. • If you don’t comply with mandatory standards, you risk action being taken against you under the Trade Practices Act.

13. Govt. enforces mandatory product safety and information standards and bans on unsafe goods declared under the Trade Practices Act. • Fair trading offices also have an important role in product safety within their own states.

14. Product safety • Product suppliers and manufacturers have an obligation to ensure that only safe products are marketed, by: • providing clear instructions for use, including warnings against possible misuse • being aware of and meeting industry and mandatory standards

15. developing product recall plans and procedures including effective communication strategies to the public (eg advertisements in papers) • incorporating safety into product design • developing appropriate safety standards through product improvement • implementing a quality assurance program which includes consumer feedback • responding quickly to safety concerns that arise.

16. Mandatory product standards • Safety standards - goods must comply with particular performance, composition, contents, methods of manufacture or processing, design, construction, finish or packaging rules. • Information standards - prescribed information must be given to consumers when they purchase specified goods (e.g. labeling for cosmetics, tobacco products and care labeling for clothing and textile products).

17. Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of statutes, common law, treaties, conventions, regulations and policies which, very broadly, operate to regulate the interaction of humanity and the rest of the biophysical or natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing or minimizing the impacts of human activity, both on the natural environment for its own sake, and on humanity itself.

18. Areas of concern in environmental law include air quality, water quality, global climate change, agriculture, biodiversity, species protection, pesticides and hazardous chemicals, waste management, remediation of contaminated land and brownfields, smart growth, sustainable development, impact review, and conservation, stewardship and management of public lands and natural resources.