Red tape - wikipedia Red tape This article is about the idiom referring to excessive bureaucratic regulation. For other uses, see Red tape ( disambiguation ). American Civil War `` Red Tape '' binding redeemed Confederate States of America bond coupons Red tape is an idiom that refers to excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision - making. It is usually applied to governments, corporations, and other large organizations. One definition is the `` collection or sequence of forms and procedures required to gain bureaucratic approval for something, especially when oppressively complex and time - consuming ''. Another definition is the `` bureaucratic practice of hair splitting or foot dragging, blamed by its practitioners on the system that forces them to follow prescribed procedures to the letter ''. Things often described as `` red tape '' include filling out paperwork, obtaining licenses, having multiple people or committees approve a decision and various low - level rules that make conducting one 's affairs slower, more difficult, or both. Red tape can also include `` filing and certification requirements, reporting, investigation, inspection and enforcement practices, and procedures ''. Contents 1 Origins 2 Red tape reduction 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading Origins Bundle of US pension documents from 1906 bound in red tape It is generally believed that the term originated with the Spanish administration of Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, in the early 16th century, who started to use red tape in an effort to modernize the administration that was running his vast empire. The red tape was used to bind the most important administrative dossiers that required immediate discussion by the Council of State, and separate them from issues that were treated in an ordinary administrative way, which were bound with ordinary string. Most of the red tapes arriving at the Council of State were manufactured in the city of ' s - Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, because most of the important dossiers came from the Low Countries ( present - day Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg which at that time also belonged to the Spanish Habsburg dynasty ) and the Holy Roman Empire ( mainly present - day Germany ). The Spanish name for red tape `` balduque '' was derived from the Spanish translation of the city of ' s - Hertogenbosch French name Bois - le - Duc, which is `` Bolduque ''. Although they were not governing such a vast territory as Charles V, this practice of using red tape to separate the important dossiers that had to be discussed, was quickly copied by the other modern European monarchs to speed up their administrative machines. In this age of civil servants using computers and information technology, a legacy from the administration of the Spanish Empire can still be observed where some parts of the higher levels of the Spanish administration continue the tradition of using red tape to bind important dossiers that need to be discussed and to keep them bound in red tape when the dossier is closed. This is, for example, the case for the Spanish Council of State, the supreme consultative council of the Spanish Government. In contrast, the lower Spanish courts use ordinary twine to bundle documents as their cases are not supposed to be heard at higher levels. The Spanish Government plans to phase out the use of paper and abandon the practice of using twine. The tradition continued through to the 17th and 18th century. Charles Dickens, in David Copperfield wrote, `` Britannia, that unfortunate female, is always before me, like a trussed fowl : skewered through and through with office - pens, and bound hand and foot with red tape ''. The English practice of binding documents and official papers with red tape was popularized in Thomas Carlyle 's writings, protesting against official inertia with expressions like `` Little other than a red tape Talking - machine, and unhappy Bag of Parliamentary Eloquence ''. To this day, most defense barristers ' briefs, and those from private clients, are tied in a pink - coloured ribbon known as `` pink tape '' or `` legal tape ''. Even in modern times, Spanish bureaucracy is notorious for unusually extreme levels of red tape ( in the figurative sense ). As of 2013, the World Bank ranked Spain 136 out of 185 countries for ease of starting a business, which took on average 10 procedures and 28 days. Similar issues persist throughout Latin America. As of 2009 in Mexico, it took six months and a dozen visits to government agencies to obtain a permit to paint a house, and to obtain a monthly prescription for gamma globulin for X-linked agammaglobulinemia, a patient had to obtain signatures from two government doctors and stamps from four separate bureaucrats before presenting the prescription to a dispensary. Red tape Reduction The `` cutting of red tape '' - meaning a reduction of bureaucratic obstacles to action. Business representatives often claim red tape is a barrier to business, particularly small business. In Canada, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has done extensive research into the impact of red tape on small businesses. The European Commission has a competition that offers an award for the `` Best Idea for Red Tape Reduction ''. The competition is `` aimed at identifying innovative suggestions for reducing unnecessary bureaucracy stemming from European law ''. In 2008, the European Commission held a conference entitled ' Cutting Red Tape for Europe '. The goal of the conference was `` reducing red tape and overbearing bureaucracy, '' in order to help `` business people and entrepreneurs improve competitiveness ''. In the UK, the ruling Conservative Party is actively reducing red tape with a joint team working across a newly ( 2016 ) formed ministry, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Cabinet Office. It follows on from the Red Tape Challenge that ran from 2011 to 2014 under the Conservative - Lib Dem Coalition of 2010 - 2015. At its launch, then - Prime Minister David Cameron spoke of his intention to limit and reduce the 21,000 statutory rules and regulations in force at the time. By the end of the 3 - year initiative, 2,400 regulations had been scrapped, representing over 10 % of the total. In all, it was estimated that businesses would be £ 40m a year better off as a result. Another key change as a result of this initiative was ' Businesses with good records have had fire safety inspections reduced from 6 hours to 45 minutes, with the intention of allowing managers to quickly get back to their day job ', something that was highlighted following the Grenfell Tower fire, with some suggesting that the extent of fire spread would have been limited prior to the change. Red tape is also a complaint in developing societies and international development organizations have often suggested improved procedures for removing unnecessary regulatory costs and risks. See also Busy work Instruction creep Micromanagement Paperwork Reduction Act Paternalism Prig Purple crocodile Sir Humphrey Appleby Typical intellectual engagement References Jump up ^ `` red tape : Definition from ''. Answers.com. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 09. Jump up ^ `` What is red tape ? definition and meaning ''. Businessdictionary.com. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Red Tape Reduction Initiative Business ''. Gov.nl.ca. Archived from the original on 2012 - 11 - 09. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 09. Jump up ^ Dickson, Del ( 2015 ). The People 's Government : An Introduction to Democracy. New York : Cambridge University Press. p. 176. ISBN 9781107043879. Retrieved 13 December 2015. Jump up ^ p. 1152, Brewer 's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, 17th Edition ; Revised by J Ayto, 2005 ^ Jump up to : Graff, Marie Louise ( 2009 ). CultureShock ! Spain ( 6th ed. ). Tarrytown, NY : Marshall Cavendish. p. 57. ISBN 9789814435949. Jump up ^ Buck, Tobias ( 2 June 2013 ). `` Spain hopes new law to cut red tape will attract entrepreneurs ''. Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved 13 December 2015. Jump up ^ Jose Luis Guasch ; Benjamin Herzberg ( 2008 ). `` Increasing Competitiveness Through Regulatory and Investment Climate Improvements in Latin America ; the Case of Mexico ''. In Haar, Jerry ; Price, John. Can Latin America Compete ? Confronting the Challenges of Globalization. New York : Palgrave Macmillan. p. 255. ISBN 9781403975430. Jump up ^ Ellingwood, Ken ( 2 January 2009 ). `` No stamp of approval for Mexico bureaucrats ''. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing Company. Retrieved 13 December 2015. Jump up ^ Malkin, Elizabeth ( 8 January 2009 ). `` For Redress of Grievances, Mexicans Turn to Bureaucracy Contest ''. New York Times. New York Times Company. Retrieved 13 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` cfib.ca ''. cfib.ca. Retrieved 2014 - 01 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Canada 's Red Tape Report ''. Cfib-fcei.ca. Archived from the original on 2014 - 02 - 01. Retrieved 2014 - 01 - 23. Jump up ^ European Commission ^ Jump up to : `` Cutting Red Tape home page ''. Cutting Red Tape. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` < ? bloginfo ( ' name ' ) ? > - Home ''. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2017. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) ^ Jump up to : `` Red Tape Challenge - GOV.UK ''. www.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` Business - friendly enforcement saves firms over £ 40 million - GOV.UK ''. www.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Jump up ^ Letters ( 19 June 2017 ). `` Grenfell Tower shows that poor tenants can not rely on armchair auditors to protect them ''. Retrieved 5 September 2017 -- via The Guardian. Jump up ^ `` The Grenfell inquiry will be a stitch - up. Here 's why ''. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017 -- via The Guardian. Jump up ^ `` London Building Act ' would have averted Grenfell disaster ' ''. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` Scrapped fire safety laws ' burdened ' builders -- official report ''. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Jump up ^ Barreto, Ruben ; Cordova, Cesar ; Gutan, Igor ( 2015 - 12 - 01 ). `` A Model for a Regulatory Impact Analysis System in Tajikistan ''. Rochester, NY. Further reading Barry Bozeman ( 2000 ) Bureaucracy and Red Tape Prentice - Hall Publishing. OECD ( 2006 ) ' Cutting red tape ; national strategies for administrative simplification ' OECD Editions, Paris. 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Question: what is the meaning of red tape in idiomatic expression
Answer: excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making