Obstacles to SME Participation in Global Trade

©iStock/VectorMine

A key finding in this section of a very robust report is that all types of trade costs, whether they are fixed or variable, adversely affect the ability of SMEs to participate in trade, to a greater extent than large enterprises.

Since SMEs are more sensitive to trade barriers than large firms, removing obstacles to trade benefits SMEs disproportionately. It is therefore important to understand what these major obstacles are.  You can find out here.

Today in Global Small Business: Governing Global eCommerce

©iStock/cybrain

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Several dozen World Trade Organization (WTO) countries have signed a sweeping agreement governing global eCommerce.
• Kamala Harris would bring greater foreign policy experience than most US presidents.
• Quote of the week:  "I am a tariff man, standing on a tariff platform." – William McKinley
• Going global to retain local talent.
• The question of TikTok bans.
• Tariffs as a major revenue source. 

Today in Global Small Business: Imitation Isn't Enough With AI

©iStock/CHOLTICHA KRANJUMNONG

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• The ethical issues of AI; imitation isn't enough.
• Fears of trade protectionism are overdone.
• The fallout of Red Sea disruptions for global trade and inflation.
• Quote of the week:  "The freer the flow of world trade, the stronger the tides for economic progress and peace among nations. I've seen in my lifetime what happens when leaders forget these timeless principles. They seek to protect industries and jobs, but they end up doing the opposite." – President Ronald Reagan 
• World economic outlook April, 2024 from IMF.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) at 30.

Let's Push for Better Opportunities for Women in Trade

©iStock/jacoblund

According to three international trade bodies, for a more inclusive approach to rebuilding the post-pandemic economy, women need to participate more in the most profitable exporting sectors.

At the World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum in Geneva last week, WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, International Trade Centre (ITC) executive director Pamela Coke-Hamilton and Institute of Export and International Trade (IoE&IT) director general Marco Forgione highlighted the importance of an inclusive economic recovery, with a particular view to getting more women into the world’s most lucrative – but male-dominated – industries of STEM, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and finance.

Read more about how the WTO, ITC and Institute of Export and International Trade push for better opportunities for women in trade.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Slashes Forecast for Global Trade in 2022

©iStock/Maria Shapilova

The Russia-Ukraine war has damaged the world economy at a critical juncture as the coronavirus pandemic - and Chinese lockdowns specifically - continues to weigh on the recovery.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday, 4/12/22, revised down its forecast for global trade growth this year to 3% from 4.7% because of the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and warned of a potential food crisis caused by surging prices. 

World Trade Organization Cuts Its Global Trade Growth Forecast for 2022

©iStock/Nuthawut Somsuk

The Ukraine war has led the World Trade Organization (WTO) to cut its global trade growth forecast for this year.

The previous 4.7% growth forecast has been cut to 2.5% due to "the impact of the war and related policies," said WTO boss Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The cut is also linked to continuing global supply chain problems that started as a result of the pandemic.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala told the BBC that although Russia and Ukraine only make up about 2.5% of global merchandise exports, they "are very, very significant in certain sectors."

Read on to learn how the Ukraine war to halve global trade growth, warns WTO.

How Women Benefit from Global Trade

©iStock/metamorworks

The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Bank have launched a joint, 189-page publication titled, ‘Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality,’ on how women benefit from trade and the role of trade in advancing gender equality.

The publication shares how trade can expand women’s role in the economy, which can be linked to higher levels of gender equality, increased wages, improved working conditions, and improved women’s access to education and skills.

The report uses labor data disaggregated by gender at the industry level for 72 countries as well as a database on gender-related provisions in regional trade agreements.

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization works with women entrepreneurs and business owners in helping them expand their businesses internationally and has known all along that women benefit from trade by earning more, paying more, employing more people and being more productive than firms that operate domestically.

wegg's mission is:  to educate, inspire and nurture women business owners and entrepreneurs worldwide on how to go global so they can run healthier businesses and create a new future for themselves, their families and their community.   wegg's vision is:  a world where every woman business owner has the opportunity and ability to take their business global wherever they may be located.

The Global Trade Barometer and Economic Impact

©iStock/yu-ji

Every component of the Goods Trade Barometer, which provides real-time information on the trajectory of world trade relative to recent trends, will be influenced by the economic impact of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of efforts to treat and contain the disease,” says the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Geneva-based body’s latest forward-looking Goods Trade Barometer stood at 95.5, compared with a level of 96.6 in November. 

The WTO goes on to say that global trade in goods will likely remain weak in coming months as disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak in China stanch the movement of international commerce already slowed by tariffs and uncertainty.

Boosting International Trade for Small Businesses

©iStock/monsitj

The World Trade Organization (WTO) says that helping small enterprises enter global markets "will go a long way to making the trading system more inclusive and improving the lives of individuals and communities around the world.”

WTO seeks to open trade opportunities for small firms.  Some of the biggest challenges for them on international trade include but are not limited to:

• Lack of appropriate information and skills
• Lack of trade finance
• Burdensome customs procedures
• High fixed costs

Read more about how the World Trade Organization wants to raise the voice of small enterprises in trade and enable them to prosper across borders.

Today in Global Small Business: WTO Proposes Agreement to Support E-Commerce for SMEs

©iStock/Ali Kerem Yucel

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• How technology can help small businesses save time with automation and have a global reach.
• Why The International Monetary Fund has urged governments to take action to tackle a record $152tn mountain of debt mountain.
• Register for the 2nd Annual Global Small Business Forum held in Chicago Friday, October 21st.
• World Trade Organization proposes a new global agreement to support e-commerce for SMEs.
• Why Walmart is doubling down on e-commerce investments and what we can learn by it.
• Should Alibaba be put back on the list of sellers of fakes?

The Smallest of Businesses Can Go Global If They Can Access the Internet

©iStock/Ali Kerem Yucel

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ended the World Trade Organization’s (WTO's) first ever dialogue with the business community as an important step towards strengthening the global trade agenda.

The event identified a broad range of possible WTO initiatives to help boost trade-led inclusive growth, including, but not limited to:

SME growth
Business leaders encouraged the WTO to explore possible initiatives to make trade easier for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), going beyond trade facilitation reforms to identify where harmonized rules and end-to-end standards can help small businesses access global markets. Access to financing was also highlighted as a priority to support SME trade growth.

Adding to that, the International Chamber of Commerce's First Vice-Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said:  "The global nature of e-commerce means that the WTO has a vital role to play in the further development of rules and standards for this area. E-commerce has the potential to revolutionize global trade flows. Today, even the smallest of businesses can go global if they can access the internet."

Read the entire article:  ICC welcomes new dialogue with WTO; highlights options for multilateral trade

Reboot Global Trade Talks

©iStock/Ylivdesign

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group wants to reboot global trade talks.

“WTO 2.0,” he said in a speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila last week. “We should be using WTO to support small guys.” It’s the big buys that currently control the global trading system. They built it, as they alone had the resources to spread out around the globe."

He goes on to say that trade is a freedom, trade is human right and trade should not be used as a tool against other nations.

Mighty powerful words.  Besides Alibaba, who else benefits from small-business commerce?  Are we on the verge of a new trade agenda -- beyond Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?

Read more:  Why the future of global trade deals could be small business

To SMEs in China, The Whole World Can Be Your Market

iStock/Thinkstock

After China became a member of the World Trade Organization, twelve years ago, China claims "it’s fulfilled its commitments and made great strides in exporting its "Made in China" brand."

China promised to open the market by bringing down tariffs. The ensuing flood of giant multinationals put tremendous pressure on the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Yet, Li Mingliang, who runs a private fish processing company says:

"Today my products can not only be sold in China, but are exported to neighboring countries like Japan and South Korea. The whole world can be my potential market. We are all connected. A decade ago, that was unimaginable."

Read the entire article:  China makes great strides in exporting "Made in China" brand

How to Stave Off the Recession? Trade Globally.

iStock/Thinkstock

What the world needs now is not love sweet love but more trade - international trade that is.

Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his annual report to members on developments in the international trading environment, said: “The world needs a renewed and stronger commitment from all Governments to revitalize the multilateral trading system that can restore economic certainty at a time when it is badly needed. The policy determination to resist inward-looking policies seems to be faltering in some countries, even as the world economy needs more trade to stave off recession.”

Learn more here.

Note:  Information presented covers the period mid-October 2011 to mid-October 2012.  The full report is available on the WTO website.

Globalization of Services Is Still In Infancy

iStock/Thinkstock

According to WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy:

“The global economy is being transformed at an unprecedented speed and at the heart of that transformation is the services economy. (…) Services underpin every part of the production process, from research and development to design, engineering, financing, transportation, distribution and marketing. In short, without services, there would be little value-added and innovation.”

Learn more about the growth of the services economy here.

Related articles:  WTO | News - Speech - Director-General Pascal Lamy - Lamy:  "It is high time that we put services at the heart of our trade opening agenda"

New Release:  U.S. International Trade in Good and Services

Service Exports:  A Dynamic Option

International Trade Promotes Growth and Development

iStock/Thinkstock

In a speech, “Charting a Course for Trade in an Uncertain Future," given by Director-General of the World Trade Organization Pascal Lamy at the Brookings Dialogue in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, he said:

Trade as a share of global GDP has risen from roughly 40% in 1980 to around 60% today. In the United States, a country long considered less dependent on trade than many others, the share has risen from 10% to 25% over the same period of time.  US exports of goods and services in the last 10 years have more than doubled to over $2 trillion. One reason for this dramatic expansion is that US exporters have entered new markets in a big way. When China entered the WTO in 2001, US exports to the Middle Kingdom were $20 billion. By 2011 they had increased more than five-fold to over $100 billion. 

Read the entire speech here.

Making Informed Decisions About the Food We Eat From Around the World

iStock/Thinkstock

The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules that country-of-origin labels will remain the same while the U.S. government continues to review the ruling.

The ruling, public advocates fear, could lead to trade sanctions against the United States or a watering down of the labels designed to tell consumers where their meat comes from.

U.S. statement:

The United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk put a happy face on the WTO ruling, “which affirmed the United States’ right to adopt labeling requirements that provide information to American consumers about the meat they buy.”

Read the entire article here.

Adapt to Global Trade

iStock/Thinkstock

In the past, China has taken a conservative profile in organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). But now, its getting more adapted and flexing its muscles to global trade rules, as exemplified in its recent complaint to the WTO on an anti-dumping dispute with the European Union (EU).

Read more here and here.

Don't Rule Out Globalization

iStock/Thinkstock

What are the implications for global trade during the economic downturn?

The answer from McKinsey digital folks is here.

World Trade Organization 2007 Data and Foreign Trade Statistics

iStock/Thinkstock

Due to reader inquiries (and the media), we went on a virtual mission to find direct links to trade data. The WTO has released two updated statistical publications. This year’s edition of the annual “International Trade Statistics," released electronically on 12 November 2007, has a more user-friendly presentation and expanded content on trade in services

Also available electronically is a fabulous updated “Trade Profiles," which offers a quick but comprehensive look (197 pages!) at WTO members’ trade statistics and policy measures and those of countries negotiating WTO membership.

Go here to access WTO information.

If you want or need more data, the best of the best is published by U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics.