United States construction equipment manufacturers are subject to a maze of product-oriented regulations in marketing their U.S.-built products in foreign countries. These same obstacles face their foreign-built products.
In the past, these foreign regulations were more apt to be trade barriers to protect domestic markets than bonafide regulations to protect the users.
These trade barriers are gradually being lifted because manufacturers in virtually all countries have now expanded beyond their domestic markets. Thus, the same manufacturers that formerly encouraged trade barriers must now cope with them. This expansion of markets now encourages the elimination of trade barriers and the harmonization of regulations.
For the future, regulations will be retained and expanded. They will, however, be harmonized with international voluntary standards rather than having different regulations for each country.