INF/MSME/R/21  
 
15 December  2020 
(20-9068) Page: 1/4 
  Original: English  
 
INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON MSMES1 
2020 ANNUAL REPORT  
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  On 13 December 2017, at the 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11), 88 WTO Members 
representing all major regions and levels of development established the Informal Working Group 
on MSMEs (WT/MIN(17)/58/Rev.1). In their Joint  Ministerial Statement, the "Friends of MSMEs" 
committed to discu ssing and identify ing "horizontal a nd non -discrim inatory solutions"  to improve 
the participation of MSMEs in international trade while taking into account the specific needs of 
developing countries.  
1.2.  In a year marked by the global Covid -19 pandemic and the devastating impact s it has had on 
trade and the g lobal economy, the importance of supporting MSMEs in international trade has never 
been more relevant. To this end, many members of the WTO Informal Working Group and even 
non-members of the Group joined together to issue a statement in May to support MSME s and trade 
in the time of Covid -19 (WT/GC/215/Rev.1).  
1.3.  The following annual  report describes the activities of the Group in 2020.  In the wake of  
Panama's decision to leave the Group on 3 November 2020, the Group now consists of 90 WTO 
Members.2 The Group is chaired by H.E. Mr José Lu ís Cancela  Gómez , Coordinator and Ambassador 
of Uruguay . 
2  OPEN -ENDED MEETINGS HELD BY THE MSME INFORMAL WORKING GROUP DURING 
2020 
2.1.  The Group held five open-ended meetings during 2020, the first on 25 February, followed by 
24 July, 20 October, 5 November and 11 December . A series of small group meetings also took place 
throughout the year, in particular around the Covid -19 Spring lockdown, to advance work on the 
package.  
2.2.  On 25 February 20 20, the Group held its first open -ended negotiating meeting of the year to 
discuss the Group's package and the way forward to the next WTO ministerial, which was anticipated 
for June 2020. Members reviewed the entire MSME package including the Group's draft ministerial 
declaration and six non -binding proposals, with discussions focused on fine -tuning the language. 
The proposals included a draft recommendation on the collection and maintenance of MSME -related 
information (INF/MSME/W/7/Rev.3); a decision on access to information and the Global Trad e 
Helpdesk (INF/MSME/W/11/Rev.2); a draft text on trade facilitation (INF/MSME/W/14/Rev.2); a 
draft recommendation on promoting MSMEs inclusion in regulatory development in the area of trade 
 
1 Previous annual reports include  JOB/GC/207 dated 3 December 2018  and INF/MSME/R/13/Rev.1 dated 
9 December 2019.  
2 Members of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs are: Afghanistan; Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; 
Argentina; Armenia; Australia; Bahrain, Kingdo m of; Belize; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; 
Colombia; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; European Union 
and its 2 7 Member States; Grenada; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; Iceland ; Israel; 
Japan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of ; Kyrgyz Republic; Lao P eople's Democratic Republic ; 
Liechtenstein; Malaysia; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of ; Mongolia ; Montenegro; Myanmar; New Zealand; 
Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; Pakis tan; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Qatar; Russian 
Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint  Vincent and the Grenadines; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; 
Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei ; Turkey; United Kingdom; Uruguay ; and Viet Nam.  INF/MSME/R /21 
 
- 2 - 
 
  (INF/MSME/W/22/Rev.2); a draft recommendation to promote implemen tation of the newly adopted 
IDB decision (INF/MSME/W/23/Rev.1); and a draft declaration on access to trade finance for MSMEs 
with a new reference to LEIs (INF/MSME/W/25).  The Group was also briefed on the project to 
establish a MSME web platform that would  link to useful tools for MSMEs and policymakers 
(INF/MSME/W/3). The Republic of Korea presented two new proposals concerning best practices on 
MSMEs and trade remedy, as well as promoting the participation of MSMEs in international trade. 
Finally,  the Uni ted Kingdom expressed its continued support for the MSME IWG as a member in its 
own right following its exit from the European Union in January 2020.  
2.3.  Following a hiatus on account of the Coronavirus pandemic and the postponement of MC12, 
during which time many small group meetings were held online to fine -tune the texts, the Group 
held its second open -ended meeting on 24 July. Members reviewed the various updated texts on the 
table ( INF/MSME/CN/5/Rev.1 ), most of which were close to being finalized with only  a handful of 
comments still to be addressed. Members were invited to express their views on the publication of 
Covid -related MSME support measures  which had been  introduced by governments  and were  to be 
compiled , at their recommendation,  by the Secretaria t. They discussed next steps for the Group, 
including topics for future consideration. Mexico informed the Group that UK funds had been secured 
via the TAF2+ programme for the IT development of an online platform that would link to practical 
tools for MSME s and policy makers (see INF/MSME/W/3/Rev.2).  
2.4.  On 20 October the Group held its third open -ended meeting to review the texts and finalize the 
package (INF/MSME/CN/6). One member expressed reservations and could not support the package 
as it stood. It was ag reed to hold further meetings and consultations to try and address their 
concerns in the coming weeks. Mexico provided another update on the  Group's MSME web platform , 
noting that the selection of a web developer was currently under way  and that  TAF2+ ha d committed 
to funding the development of the platform through 2021 , with maintenance through  2030. The 
Chair underlined outreach as an important next step to bring more WTO members on board. 
Members were advised to contact delegations , with regional and clo se-working relations , to build 
support for the package.  
2.5.  Following the decision of Panama to withdraw from the Group (decision notified to the 
Coordinator on 3 November ), the Group convened again on 5 November  to finalize the technical 
work on its package of six recommendations and declarations aimed at facilitating the participation 
of MSMEs in international trade . 
2.6.  The fifth open-ended meeting of the Group took  place on 11 December to officially endorse the 
draft package (INF/MSME/ 3), approve the annual report , and discuss the programme of work for 
2021.  
2.7.  Since th e first open -ended meeting of the year, the sponsors of the various texts, and members 
who had submitted comments, also met regularly in an informal context  to advance work on the 
MSME cover declaration (INF/MSME/W/21).  
3  OTHER ACTIVITIES  
3.1  Webinars  
3.1.  Besides regular open -ended meetings, the coordination of the Group also convened and invited 
Membe rs to five webinars on MSMEs and Cross -border Payments; MSMEs and Paperless Trade; two 
webinars o n Helping MSMEs in the time of Covid -19; and lastly a webinar on Supporting Small 
Business Resilience through Digital Tools.  Presentations and audio from these events are available 
here and summaries of these five events are included in the Annex of this document.  
3.2  Other  
3.2.  Funding for a MSME web platform was approved in June 2020 by the United Kingdom's TAF2+ 
facility and work to select a web developer got under way in the Fal l of 2020. Development of the 
web platform was expected to begin before the end of 2020.  
3.3.  Many members of the Group, as well as some non -members, also issued a statement 
highlighting the importance of MSMEs in the time of Covid -19 (WT/GC/215/Rev.1).  The statement INF/MSME/R/21  
 
- 3 - 
 
  commends the actions taken by WTO Members and encourages Members to update any trade -related 
Covid -19 measures to the WTO in order to make the most timely and accurate information available 
to MSMEs.  
3.4.  H.E. Mr José Luís Cancela Gómez was  also invited to participate  in various webinars organized 
by external stakeholders to raise awareness concerning the efforts of the Group.  
3.5.  Additionally, the Coordinator issued three Newsletters to interested external recipients over 
2020. Newsletters covered up dates on the work of the Group and the Group's response to the 
Covid -19 pandemic. The Group's November newsletter was dedicated to a detailed presentation of 
the package with the intention of publicizing the Group's work and increasing support for the 
initiative.  Circulation  of the Newsletter was also expanded to increase communications between the 
Group and the private sector.  
3.6.  Lastly of note, the WTO Secretariat released the first public webpage dedicated to MSMEs 
(here), as well as a database of MSME -related provisions featured in Regional Trade Agreements, 
which is available here. 
3.7.  The C hairperson will present the package at the 14 December Heads of Delegation meeting, 
and a webinar will be organized on 15 December to present the package to the private sector, 
followed by a press conference.  
4  CONCLUSION  
4.1.  The Informal Working Group adopted t he present Annual Report (2020) at its 
11 December  2020 open -ended meeting.  
 
_______________  
 
 
  INF/MSME/R /21 
 
- 4 - 
 
  ANNEX  
SUMMARIES OF 2020 WEBINARS PRESENTED TO THE MSME IWG  
1. On 17 June 2020 , the Group hosted a webinar  with the ICC on digital payments and the 
enormous potential they hold for MSMEs. Cross -border payment services are a key tool for MSMEs 
to participate in international trade and global value chains. Studies have found that MSMEs with 
cross-border digital payments have a much higher first year survival rate compared to MSMEs 
without. However , regulatory complexity and limited international commitments create a difficult 
environment both for small firms to access and offer digital financial services. There is a need to 
re-visit and increase services commitments under GATS as currently only a quarter of Members have 
fully liberalized cross border payments, and to homogenize regulation thereby reducing regulatory 
complexity and increasing framework interoperability. Since MSME s are the main targets of 
cyber -attacks, there is also a need to enhance cyber security as a foundation for MSME participation 
in digital payments.  
2. On 18 June 2020 , the Group hosted a webinar with the ICC on paperless trade. Paperless 
trade, or the digitiz ation of trade -related documents and data exchange, could significantly ease the 
cost and burden of trading for MSMEs. Estimates are that technology such as blockchain could 
increase trade by USD 35 billion globally, at the minimum, and could significantly  reduce the cost of 
importing a single shipping container, adding up to major savings for traders. International trade, 
unlike many other commercial spheres, remains a transaction area that still relies on analogue 
processes, such as hard -copy documents, a nd is only at the beginning of transitioning to online, 
integrated systems. In order to promote the adoption of paperless trade, there is a need to 
harmonize trade -related datasets and standards. It will also require an inclusive, end -to-end digital 
pipeli ne from document origination in one economy to the ability to accept and process import 
documentation in another. Further, there is a strong need to recognize the legal authority of digital 
trade documents through legislation that transposes the UNCITRAL's  Model Law on Electronic 
Transferable Records (MLETR). Finally, it was recommended that the TFA could adopt a more 
stringent approach to digitalization to speed up this transition.  
3. To celebrate MSME day, the Group held two webinars on 26 June to review the  effects of the 
Covid -19 pandemic on small and medium -sized businesses from the perspectives of national 
governments and international organizations. Speakers in the first webinar discussed actions taken 
by Côte d'Ivoire, the European Union and the Philipp ines to support their MSMEs during the Covid -19 
crisis. Measures essentially focused on access to finance to provide domestic MSMEs with short term 
liquidity. Some WTO Members also introduced measures to support the digitalization and 
internationalization of their MSMEs. The second webinar focused on the research and 
recommendations of various international organizations concerning the pandemic and the private 
sector, especially traders. MSMEs are recognized as the most impacted business size classes in thi s 
pandemic, given the industries they are focused in and their limited resources. International 
organizations including the ITC, the World Bank, the OECD, the WCO, and the FAO noted the need 
for short term liquidity support followed by structural reforms t o facilitate trade and increase MSMEs' 
digital connectivity, among others.  
4. Finally, on 1 July the Group co-organized a webinar with the Global Innovation Forum on 
supporting small business resilience through digital tools. The event looked into ways the Co vid-19 
pandemic has impacted MSMEs in different regions of the world and the ways digital technology 
helped them cope with the economic disruption. The four speakers described how their businesses 
have pivoted to more online operations, both in terms of pr oduct sales and for offering remote 
workshops or trainings. Various difficulties were noted by the speakers, ranging from access to 
markets, given paper document processing holdups, to basic challenges accessing clients or training 
recipients caused by inf rastructure deficiencies. All speakers underscored the importance of the 
digital economy to provide them with a market during this period and supported the development 
of public private partnerships given that the new digital economy requires access to inf rastructure 
from basic electricity to high speed internet. Further, they noted a need to increase populations' 
digital literacy in order to increase developing economies' populations' awareness of e -commerce 
and online opportunities.  
__________