{"id":4341,"date":"2023-01-12T16:12:40","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T15:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/repair.eu\/?p=4341"},"modified":"2023-01-12T18:38:17","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T17:38:17","slug":"right-to-repair-news-from-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/repair.eu\/sv\/news\/right-to-repair-news-from-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Right to Repair news from the US\u00a0<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Visual: own canva design, picture of the Liberty statue by Aliaksei Skreidzeleu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 has started with a bang for Right to Repair in the USA. An important bill was signed in New York and long-standing opponent to R2R – John Deere signed a repair agreement with US farmers. Keep reading for an initial assessment by our US colleagues. 2023 definitely looks promising for repair, but we still need to hold companies accountable on their ”pinky promises” and push for regulation covering all producers and products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


New York\u2019s Right To Repair Act –  a big step for repair, but big tech managed to considerably slim it down <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a big part of the world was recovering from their Christmas meals, US activists were fighting an ambitious electronic Right to Repair bill during tense negotiations in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly before the bill was signed (on 28 December 2022!) New York Gov. Kathy Hochul managed to narrow its scope in exchange for her support. The fight for a real and universal right to repair continues, but this is an important step in the right direction! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Proctor, Senior Director of the Campaign for the Right to Repair at PIRG, said: \u201cBefore we talk about exactly what was changed and how, we have to recognize the importance of this step. Passing any law is a huge task. Passing a law with some $10 trillion worth of opponents<\/a> is something I was told was impossible by the lobbyists who line up against us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the bill is certainly worth celebrating, US activists do regret last minute changes, which considerably reduce the scope of the law. The first version of the bill could have obliged manufacturers of digital electronics such as phones, tablets and IT equipment to provide access to the parts, tools and information needed to repair equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After many industry-induced amendments, the bill now excludes any \u201cproduct sold under a specific business-to-government or business-to-business contract \u2026 not otherwise offered for sale directly by a retail seller,\u201d. Furthermore, the repair bill only applies to products made after 1 July 2023. US headquarters of our campaign member iFixit  especially deplore that \u201cthe revised language excludes enterprise electronics relied on by schools, hospitals, universities, and data centers\u201d as well as devices currently owned by people.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re not surprised by last-minute reduction of ambition by policymakers, as we\u2019ve experienced the same as part of every <\/strong>negotiation in Europe as well. It\u2019s equally to be expected that new legislation wouldn\u2019t apply to existing products – the same is true in the EU, and in fact the delay between approving legislation and the moment it comes into effect is significantly longer in Europe: two years for smartphones, for example. This said, the exclusion of devices supplied in business-to-business and business-to-government contracts is significant. Evidently, also in New York state, Right to Repair is\u2026 \u201cstill loading<\/a>\u201d, just as in Europe. We\u2019re also concerned that the bill allows selling assemblies of parts instead<\/a> of individual components – something we successfully fought against recently for smartphones in Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are all looking forward to seeing how this will evolve, as other states are already looking at the NY Right to Repair bill for inspiration! With a bit of luck – & a lot of help from the repair movement – upcoming versions will be more ambitious on types of equipment & timelines. We expect 2023 to be an exciting year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further reading: <\/p>\n\n\n\n