NAM Study: ‘Right-to-Repair’ Stifles Innovation, Threatens Consumer Safety

Thanks,
Quality Digest

منبع: https://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/quality-insider-news/nam-study-right-repair-stifles-innovation-threatens-consumer-safety

So please consider turning off your ad blocker for our site.

Published: Monday, January 15, 2024 – 12:00

Quality Digest does not charge readers for its content. We believe that industry news is important for you to do your job, and Quality Digest supports businesses of all types.

However, someone has to pay for this content. And that’s where advertising comes in. Most people consider ads a nuisance, but they do serve a useful function besides allowing media companies to stay afloat. They keep you aware of new products and services relevant to your industry. All ads in Quality Digest apply directly to products and services that most of our readers need. You won’t see automobile or health supplement ads.

Quality Insider

NAM Study: ‘Right-to-Repair’ Stifles Innovation, Threatens Consumer Safety

Predicts negative effects on quality, performance, consumer safety, the environment, and US economy

(NAM: Washington, D.C.) — The National Association of Manufacturers released a new study, “The Economic Downsides of Right-to-Repair,” that highlights the cost to the environment, consumer safety, and manufacturing innovation of providing unfettered access to complex software and components in manufactured goods. The study analyzes a wide range of unintended and potentially harmful consequences of “right-to-repair” legislation.

Notably, right-to-repair policies could seriously disrupt original equipment manufacturers’ supply chains, which would leave many consumers—especially in rural communities—without a reliable and efficient place to get repairs.

“This could increase costs for customers significantly, as delays in placing equipment back in service directly affect a business’ bottom line,” NAM maintains. The study further highlights an Environmental Protection Agency estimate that more than 500,000 tons of excess emissions have entered the atmosphere since 2009 due to operators disabling or modifying emission controls in vehicles across multiple industries.

The study finds that instituting right-to-repair policies directly counteracts many federal laws which were put in place to protect both manufacturers and consumers. The study states, “Bypassing the proper channels for repair will come at a steep cost to quality, performance, consumer safety, the environment, and the broader U.S. economy.”

“For decades, manufacturing innovation has created new products and technologies that improve modern life,” says NAM managing vice president of policy Chris Netram. “Unfortunately, so called ‘right-to-repair’ policies would threaten these programs, resulting in harm to the environment and putting Americans’ data and safety at risk.”

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order encouraging the Federal Trade Commission to enact policies limiting OEMs’ ability to prevent nonauthorized entities from performing certain repairs. NAM submitted comments to the FTC, calling right-to-repair legislation a “solution in search of a problem.”

Our PROMISE: Quality Digest only displays static ads that never overlay or cover up content. They never get in your way. They are there for you to read, or not.

As of 2023, New York, Minnesota, and Colorado have enacted right-to-repair legislation, and 23 other states have also considered legislation that would force manufacturers to provide direct access to replacement parts, grant unfettered access to the central processor, and further limit their ability to constrain what consumers can do with their product.