Diverging regulatory systems are reshaping how global firms have to operate. Singapore’s standards strategy is intended to make regulatory friction work in its favour.

On 11 June 2026, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong announced the Standards and Conformance (S&C) 2035 Roadmap. The roadmap places particular emphasis on international recognition arrangements, trusted partnerships and cooperation in emerging sectors. At first glance, it looks like a routine technical document focused on market access and the growth of the local testing and certification sector. Yet, placed against the backdrop of a global economy marked by widening policy divergence, it points to a broader shift in how trade-oriented economies create value.

International businesses today must contend with more than the movement of goods across borders. While markets are still deeply linked, the regulatory frameworks behind them are drifting apart. Many companies now manage multiple, often conflicting, compliance systems at the same time – a challenge commonly referred to as parallel compliance.

Nowhere is this clearer than in artificial intelligence. A single AI product must satisfy the EU’s strict, risk-based AI Act, China’s detailed security rules for generative services, and the lighter, market-driven approach common in the United States. For firms operating globally, the difficulty is rarely about meeting one set of requirements in isolation. A system considered acceptable under one jurisdiction’s approach may require entirely different technical documentation, risk assessments or safety-testing procedures elsewhere. This divergence has........

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