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BSI FLEX SETS THE PACE


“These are complex and challenging areas that governments have to tackle to protect the rights of


citizens and build trust in the marketplace” David Cuckow


beginning of the decision-making process to ensure it is part and parcel of a systematic approach to development,” said David. “This is as true in the context of trade and trade negotiations as in any other.” The benefi ts of digitalization in moving


products and services across borders effi ciently are enormous. In the areas of food and agricultural products digital technology can be used to check provenance and help ensure compliance with stringent regulations. Distributed ledger and cloud technology can also be used to remove technical barriers to trade and support low friction trade. Standards can support development in all these areas to improve trade and protect consumers. “These are complex and challenging areas


that governments have to tackle to protect the rights of citizens and build trust in the marketplace,” said David. He identifi es three potential approaches to regulating this area, each likely to produce different results. “The fi rst is what has been called the ‘Darwinian’ approach, where the market evolves without shared best practice, in which the biggest and the strongest operators in the market drive the standards. This can stifl e innovation and does not necessarily protect the interest of consumers. “The second is an authoritarian approach.


Here government sees the need to intervene and steps in with stringent rules and


regulations. The industry doesn’t like this approach because it can also stifl e innovation and restrict development,” said David. The third way is to bring stakeholders together to agree on what good practice is and develop standards based on consensus. “This results in good quality, internationally- accepted standards that facilitate collaboration, enable widespread innovation and protect consumers,” said David. This model is the one that BSI has built up


over decades and is used in the international standards bodies ISO, IEC and CEN and CENELEC of which BSI is an integral part. “The international standards system is


a well-defi ned, robust system with a high level of governance and it brings countries together to get international acceptance and adoption. It also provides citizens or consumers with the opportunity to infl uence how standards are developed through multi- stakeholder representation, which isn’t the case with direct government regulation.” An acknowledgement of the potential of


standards was evident at the G7 summit in Cornwall this summer with a Ministerial Declaration from the G7 (the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and European Union) expressing a commitment to work together across the digital landscape in areas such as internet safety, the free fl ow of data and digital technical standards.


David Cuckow


A framework for G7 collaboration on digital technical standards spoke of cooperation “… to support industry-led, inclusive multi-stakeholder approaches for the development of digital technical standards in line with our core values.” “There was an understanding that countries can come together to agree baseline principles and use these to inform policy and international trade and digital trade. The existing international standards system provides the perfect platform to do that,” said David. He also sees that standards can be benefi cial to big tech companies and


SMEs alike. “There is an element of self- regulation, where standards can augment and complement existing laws and rules. Shared good practice also facilitates greater collaboration and can instill greater confi dence in B2B buyers and consumers. “People want to see big tech following an ethical way of doing business. At the same time, big business is taking an increasingly enlightened approach, taking greater account of things like transparency, their social impact and the environment. The more standards can enable this evolution the better for everybody,” said David.


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