The WTO Launches eCommerce Initiative for Micro and Small Businesses

The World Trade Organization, together with the World Economic Forum and Alibaba’s Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) has launched an initiative last week to talk about eCommerce to small businesses.

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The joint dialogue entitled ‘Enabling eCommerce’ aims to start a conversation about eCommerce practices and policies that can help small businesses grow in a global world.

The event was held in Buenos Aires and was joined by the executive chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma, head of Global Agenda, member of the Managing Board, and the World Economic Forum Rick Samans.

Ma’s Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) main objective is to reduce the barriers between small to medium enterprises from expanding their business worldwide. The three organizations came together during the WTO’s 11th Ministerial Conference to drive their joint initiative on eCommerce.

We cannot stop globalization, we must improve it. If business and government work together, we can create a more inclusive trade model to expand the benefits of globalization to those who have been left behind.

Jack Ma, Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group

India and the African group have been hesitant about eCommerce talks. According to commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu, “the gains from eCommerce must not be mixed with the benefits of negotiating binding rules in this area.”

In a statement, Fedex welcomes the new eCommerce initiative at WTO and plans to contribute toward making it a success.

FedEx welcomes the announcement that a group of World Trade Organization members will begin working towards negotiations on trade-related aspects of e-commerce. This groundbreaking decision reflects the critical role that e-commerce plays in enabling small businesses to reach new markets and expand exports.

It is also an important signal that WTO members are moving forward to address modern issues that are relevant to businesses and entrepreneurs everywhere. We look forward to contributing to this initiative.

Fedex Statement

eCommerce Continues to Grow

The eCommerce industry has been consistently expanding for the past couple of years and can even provide opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s) to expand their businesses.

The ‘Enabling eCommerce’ joint dialogue will provide great opportunities for stakeholders to get a much clearer picture of how to tap into eCommerce and use it to their advantage.

It will also encourage MSME’s to share their knowledge and experiences that can help bridge the gap between global eCommerce policies. The joint venture will initiate at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, scheduled for January 23-26, 2018.

How do you feel about the WTO promoting micro and small businesses? Drop us a line in the comments section below.