Chris Berube

Europe specifically, there has been a lot of movement on this.

So in 2024, the European Union passed a directive saying every member state needed to have a right to repair law by the summer of 2026.

So that is this coming summer.

And that will require manufacturers to offer repairs for all household appliances, including washing machines, even smartphones.

So pretty soon we'll have a pretty good idea of how that's being implemented in Europe.

But in the United States, there's been some movement as well.

So a few states have now passed right to repair laws.

Colorado passed a law in 2023 saying that farmers need to have the right to repair.

Oregon passed a law covering electronic and powered wheelchairs.

We talked a little bit about wheelchair users.

You know, they need access to repair tools because they're facing a pretty small market, pretty high rates for getting stuff fixed.

And now quite a few states have passed laws about fixing phones and laptops.

And that includes states who are otherwise pretty friendly to business interests.

So the latest development in all of this is a national right to repair bill for cars that is under consideration in the House of Representatives.

That bill is bipartisan, by the way.

It has been sponsored by Republicans and Democrats.

It is good news.

And actually, in response to this push, we have already seen some companies who have started sending out these repair tools.

So these are companies trying to get out preemptively ahead of these laws.

I bet.