By the close of 2022, the first compliance reports under the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act had begun to trickle in, offering a preliminary glimpse into how importers—particularly in the apparel and textile sectors—are responding to one of the most stringent supply chain due-diligence mandates in recent memory. The UFLPA, which came into force […]
With the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz, or LkSG) set to take effect in January 2023, the final implementing regulations released in December 2022 offer long-awaited clarity for firms grappling with compliance preparations. These rules, issued after months of consultation and revision, provide more precise direction on risk-assessment thresholds, reporting requirements, and documentation […]
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) draft, which underwent public consultation during the first half of 2022, has attracted widespread attention across industries, investor circles, and civil society groups. The feedback collated and analyzed by mid-2022 presents, in some ways, a surprisingly coherent set of demands, though naturally the nuances are where things get […]
Ever since the Brexit referendum, stories about businesses leaving London for Dublin, Paris, or Frankfurt have been a constant feature in the news cycle. But behind the headlines and soundbites, the actual mechanics of relocation—who moves, where they go, and what it really means—are more complex. It’s a challenge that lands squarely in the lap […]
It would be difficult, perhaps even reckless, to talk about modern economic policymaking without at least mentioning the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) system. Admittedly, it’s an arcane topic at first glance—a rigid, hierarchical code system, dense with numbers and nomenclature. But scratch beneath the surface and it becomes clear: ISIC codes are something like […]
When Canada’s Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business and the wider federal supplier diversity framework incorporated enforcement of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) reporting requirements in 2022, it represented a quiet but significant shift in the landscape of supply-chain accountability. These principles, adopted back in 2017 and often seen as aspirational guidelines, took on a more […]
The Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14017, issued in February 2021, came at a moment of acute concern over the resilience of the United States’ semiconductor supply chain. It was not just a reaction to the visible disruptions that dogged the auto sector, consumer electronics, and even defense contractors as the pandemic rippled through global manufacturing. […]
For all the breathless headlines about robots replacing workers, the reality of automation—and its effect on labor—unfolds in slow, uneven waves. It isn’t a matter of robots suddenly flooding every shop floor, but a patchwork of change that plays out sector by sector, year by year. If you want to see what’s really happening beneath […]
The EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), in force since 2013, has been something of a slow-burn regulatory force. For much of its early existence, companies affected by it—large public-interest entities mainly—treated the obligation as a disclosure exercise that could be satisfied by assembling environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information in a fairly general way. There […]
Australia’s National Plastics Plan, first introduced in 2021, has always had an ambitious edge, though some would argue its ambition has at times outpaced the practical tools available to those on the front lines of implementation. The 2022 open-data pilot, launched quietly but with considerable significance, marked the government’s first real push to operationalize transparency […]
Anyone who’s spent time in both a city and the countryside knows the gap isn’t just about scenery or pace of life. Increasingly, it’s about digital opportunity—who’s wired in, who’s building online businesses, and who’s left waiting for a signal. The so-called “digital divide” is talked about often, but when it comes to actually measuring […]
The 2021 amendments to the US Tariff Act didn’t exactly make headlines the way that sweeping trade agreements or high-profile tariff battles do. Yet, for economists, policymakers, and—critically—supply chain professionals, these changes have quietly reshaped how firms are expected to document and disclose the knock-on effects of Section 301 tariffs. The amendments introduced a novel […]
The 2021 enforcement report on the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), published eight years after the regulation’s entry into force, offers a telling snapshot of both progress and persistent gaps in Europe’s efforts to curb illegal timber trade. The EUTR, designed to prevent illegally harvested timber and timber products from entering the EU market, was lauded […]
When we talk about a region’s future, education always comes up. It’s the foundation for nearly every other form of progress, from economic growth to civic engagement. But while politicians and planners love to cite the importance of schools and universities, the actual process of tracking educational service expansion is more complicated than a simple […]
Crises do not strike all sectors equally. Whether it’s a pandemic, earthquake, typhoon, or other sudden shock, the contours of economic disruption—and the priorities for recovery—are shaped by the underlying structure of the economy itself. For governments and agencies tasked with crisis management, the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) system has become a critical tool: […]
Canada’s Bill C-9, enacted in June 2018, quietly but decisively reshaped how the country approaches labour mobility, particularly in relation to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program. It’s a piece of legislation that, while perhaps lacking the headline-grabbing profile of more contentious policy changes, has had a deep impact on the agricultural and technology sectors. […]