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Knesset Moves Forward on ‘What Is Good for the US Is Good for Israel’ Cost of Living Reform
Israel's Knesset advances a bill to import US-compliant products, lowering cost of living and expanding competition.
Jerusalem, 4 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Knesset plenum approved on first reading the bill initiated by the Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat, to activate a new import route – “What is good for the United States is good for Israel” – another strategic move to lower the cost of living, expand competition and increase the supply of products to the Israeli consumer.
The reform is a direct extension of the “What’s good for Europe is good for Israel” reform, and will allow the import, production, and marketing of products that meet the requirements of American regulations, which were manufactured in the United States or Israel. The adoption of American regulations to the Standards Law is expected to reduce barriers, shorten processes, and reduce costs, without compromising safety and quality.
Similar to the European reform, this reform will be implemented gradually. In the first phase, expected in the late second half of 2026, the new track will include broad product categories including: toys, baby and children’s furniture, mattresses, pacifiers and feeding accessories, swings and trampolines, bicycles, dinnerware, food packaging, cleaning products, and more.
The Ministry of Economy and Industry’s inspections indicate that the recent reforms in the field of standardization have led to a cumulative reduction of approximately 10% in the bureaucratic burden in imports, with potential savings of hundreds of millions of shekels for importers – savings that are also expected to be passed on to the Israeli consumer.
