INF/MSME/W/17  
 
8 November 2019  
(19-7609) Page: 1/4 
  Original: English  
 
 
INFORMAL WORKING GRO UP ON MSMES  
CONSOLIDATION  OF RECOMMENDATIONS SUBMITTED BY BUSINES S ASSOCIATIONS  
The following communication, dated 8 November  2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
Coordinator of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs.  
 
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This document was prepared by the WTO Secretariat at the request of the coordinator of the Informal 
Working Group on MSMEs. It consolida tes recommendations for policy actions presented in three 
papers submitted to the Group by business organizations in October 2019:  
 
• "Trading forward – a small business plan for the World Trade Organization ", by the UK 
Federation of Small Businesses (UKFSB) ; 
• "Idea paper: WTO SME Initiative Now !", by the Deutsche Industrie - und Handelskammertag 
(DIHK), presented to the Group at the DIHK Workshop organized on 28 October 2019;  
• "Trade Facilitation response – Friends of MSMEs ", by the Global Trade Professional Al liance 
(GTPA).  
This note does not represent the official position of the WTO, nor of the WTO Secretariat.  
 
 
1  IMPROVING TRANSPAREN CY AND ACCESS TO INF ORMATION  
1. WTO Members should commit to supporting the Global Trade Help Desk in order to facilitate 
access  for MSMEs to the relevant information. This includes integrating this help desk within 
national government websites and raising awareness of this portal domestically. [UKFSB]  The 
GTH should be extended . [DIHK]  
 
2. The WTO should seek to ensure this Global  Trade Help Desk remains up -to-date, engages in 
an awareness raising campaign with the representatives of the private sector, and that this 
database remains user -friendly and as accessible as possible for small firms. [UKFSB]  
 
3. The e -ping notification al ert system should be extended. [DIHK]  
 
4. All Members should commit themselves to the establishment of national SME contact points. 
Contact points of the TFA should be used for this purpose. [DIHK]  
 
5. Strengthen state transparency obligations of WTO Members, including through counter -
proposals (i.e. the possibility for Members to make notifications on behalf of Members who do 
not comply with their notification obligations). [DIHK]  
 
6. WTO Members should be obliged to notify and publish final legislati ve texts – not only, as 
established, the draft version as part of the TBT obligations. [DIHK]  
 INF/MSME/W/17  
 
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  2  TRADE POLICY REVIEWS  
7. WTO Members should include MSME specific information within their Trade Policy Review 
Mechanisms to further increase transparency and ena ble the sharing of best practices to 
further MSME participation. [UKFSB] In all future TPRs, an SME chapter should examine the 
effects of trade policies on SMEs to better illustrate their impact. [DIHK]  
 
8. The WTO Secretariat should be empowered to furthe r assist those countries with limited 
resources to enable them to include this information to ensure (where possible) a unified 
approach to TPRs. [UKFSB]  
 
3  GOOD REGULATORY PRAC TICES  
9. WTO Members should endeavo ur to promote the sharing of best practices on  embedding the 
interests of small firms in the development of trade and domestic policy. [UKFSB]  
 
10. The WTO should look to adopt a think small first approach and apply an SME lens during the 
negotiation or revision of any future multilateral or plurilate ral rules. [UKFSB] Members should 
introduce the Think Small First Principle . [DIHK]  
 
4  EMBEDDING THE INTERE STS OF SMALL BUSINES SES WITHIN TRADE AGR EEMENTS  
11. WTO Members should endeavo ur to ensure that any future free trade agreements contain a 
comprehensiv e small business chapter. [UKFSB]  
 
12. WTO Members should endeavo ur to exchange best practice on small business chapters within 
the WTO’s committee on regional trade agreements, including examining how any future 
agreements impact the participation of MSME s. [UKFSB]  
 
13. The WTO should ensure that any future or update to the existing multilateral framework 
contains a dedicated small business chapter. [UKFSB]  
 
5  TRADE FACILITATION A ND DIGITIZATION OF T RADE DOCUMENTS  
14. National Trade Facilitation Committees r epresentation: ensure MSME industry leaders are 
represented on National Trade Facilitation Committees. This also requires supporting MSMEs 
leaders in developing trade facilitation, regulation and compliance skills. [GTPA]  
 
15. Single windows : 
 
a. WTO Members should commit to establishing or maintaining a single window, which 
enables traders to submit documentation and/or data requirements for importation, 
exportation, or transit of goods through a single -entry point to the participating 
authorities or a gencies. [UKFSB] Single Windows for customs, which enable economic 
operators to store all the information required for cross -border trade electronically and 
only once, would also make life much easier for SMEs. [DIHK]  
 
b. Promote Single Window interoperabi lity: it is important to acknowledge the importance 
of Trade Electronic Single Windows (ESW) to facilitate, streamline and increase 
transparency in trade documentation. Advancing the interoperability of ESWs should 
include engagement with MSMEs to better u nderstand their drivers, needs and 
perspectives. [GTPA]  
 
16. AEO programmes : 
 
a. Cooperation between countries on AEO agreements: this can help promote AEOs and 
increase their use by MSMEs Cooperation would allow MSME committee members to 
explore implement ing AEOs as well as learn from best practices and past experiences, 
especially in terms of accommodating particular MSME needs into these programs. 
[GTPA]  
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  b. Mutual recognition of Authorized Economic Operator concepts based on internationally 
recognized s tandards should be promoted to relieve especially SMEs of bureaucracy. 
[DIHK] Harmonization of global standards for AEO programs and the adoption of Mutual 
Recognition Agreements among committee members: there is a need for a coordinated 
effort to ensure m utual recognition of AEO programs. The development of common 
standards for AEO programs across MSME committee members would contribute 
towards the harmonization of regulations and procedures to support MSMEs.  [GTPA]  
 
c. Facilitate greater MSME engagement w ith AEO schemes: this requires capacity and 
capability development program mes for MSME traders as well as awareness raising 
campaigns on the opportunities and benefits AEO schemes offer for MSMEs. Reviewing 
AEO processes and whether MSMEs face barriers fro m a cost and compliance 
perspective may be necessary. This can be aligned to the GTPA work on ISO/IEC  17065 
certification of globally trading businesses.  [GTPA]  
 
d. MSMEs are very well placed to leverage and benefit from commercial opportunities 
introduced  by e-commerce and the digitization of services, given the efficiencies they 
introduce and the costs they reduce. Trade facilitation policies should be developed to 
reflect this, such as tailored AEO schemes that address the particularities of e -
commerce, progressing an agenda for the regulation and acceptance of digital trade 
documentation, and developing standards for chain of custody to reduce red tape for 
import and export documentation. [GTPA]  
 
17. In many countries, the obligation of local representat ion by customs agents is also an obstacle 
for SMEs. [DIHK]  
 
18. WTO Members should exchange best practice and cooperate within the relevant international 
fora to minimize the amount of wet ink (move to paperless) and documentation requirements 
for small fi rms at the border. [UKFSB] Standardization and digitization of import and export 
documents should be promoted. The electronic depictability of customs documents is 
particularly important. [DIHK]  
 
19. WTO Members should endeavo ur to examine how to simplify commodity codes and ensure 
that it keeps up with the latest technological developments. [UKFSB]  
 
6  RULES OF ORIGIN – IMPROVING UTILIZATI ON RATES OF TRADE AG REEMENTS 
AMONGST SMALLER FIRM S 
20. WTO Members should examine and work together to reduce the burdens imposed on small 
businesses by the rules of origin and associated requirements. [UKFSB] There is an urgent 
need for action at multilateral level to enable companies to benefit from trade preferences 
through harmonization and simplification. A resumption of  WTO negotiations on non -
preferential rules of origin would benefit particularly SMEs. [DIHK]  
 
21. In the area of preferential rules of origin, further multilateral harmonization would facilitate 
international trade, at least through modern global guidelin es, especially for SMEs. [DIHK]  
 
22. All WTO Members should ratify and comply with the provisions of the revised Annex K of the 
Kyoto Convention of the World Customs Organization on definitions, principles, standards and 
recommended practices with regard to origin. [DIHK]  
 
23. WTO Members should endea vour to conduct awareness raising campaigns amongst small firms 
located in their countries of the benefits of any free trade agreement and provide sufficient 
support to encourage uptake. [UKFSB]  
 
7  DE MINIMIS  
24. WTO Members should endeavo ur to undertake a t horough analysis of the impact of existing 
de minimis  thresholds on small firms, as well as work towards a global de minimis  threshold 
of £1,000 (or equivalent in national currency). [UKFSB] Members should promote the 
introduction of a global de minimis , i.e. refrain from levying customs duties on goods below a INF/MSME/W/17  
 
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  certain value. The de minimis  threshold should reach a balanced level, but at least prevent 
the improper splitting of shiploads. [DIHK]  
 
8  TRADE FINANCE  
25. WTO Members should exchange best practice on  how to ensure that trade finance programmes 
are available and accessible to small firms of all sizes – with a particular emphasis on 
micro -businesses. [UKFSB]  
 
26. WTO Members should examine supporting alternative forms of finance such as lending 
platforms and crowd investment to plug trade finance gaps. [UKFSB]  
 
27. WTO Members should endeavo ur to design domestic banking regulations that incentivize 
lending to small businesses. [UKFSB]  
 
9  EXPORT SUPPORT  
28. WTO Members should exchange best practice on export support mechanisms to help more 
small firms on their export journey. [UKFSB]  
 
10  CAPACITY BUILDING  
29. Capacity building programmes: professional career paths in global trade, particularly in areas 
such as trade finance, logistics and supply chain m anagement, and customs and freight 
forwarding have traditionally seen low levels of participation by MSME traders. Greater 
engagement could be encouraged through the development of executive leadership training 
for MSMEs tied to ISO/IEC 17024 certification  for trade professionals in the areas of trade 
policy, trade regulation & compliance and trade finance & supply chain finance. [GTPA]  
 
30. Mentoring, networks, and access to affordable and trusted consulting services: these support 
MSMEs to better understa nd trade facilitation issues and to ensure they have access to the 
support they need, whether through personalized business mentoring, access to broader and 
likeminded networks, or support to access affordable and trusted consulting services. [GTPA]  
 
11  MSME COMMITTEE & WORK PRO GRAMME  
31. WTO Members, currently outside the MSME initiative, should consider joining in order to 
upgrade the work of the committee to a multilateral one. [UKFSB] The WTO should set up an 
SME Committee to promote the WTO SME agenda and  to ensure that the implementation of 
the results of negotiations (e.g . Trade Facilitation Agreement) is SME -friendly and sustainable. 
[DIHK]  
 
32. This multilateral SME committee should act as a cross -cutting committee designed to filter 
MSME specific issu es in relevant existing committees, including applying an SME lens to the 
work of other committees, and act as the forum for best practice for MSMEs in international 
trade. [UKFSB]  
 
33. WTO Members should adopt a comprehensive MSME work programme, which is accompanied 
by key performance indicators to guide Members to improve MSME participation in 
international trade. [UKFSB]  
 
12  DIALOGUE WITH THE PR IVATE SECTOR  
34. A permanent and structured dial ogue with SMEs and their representatives, in particular the 
chambers, should be ensured. This should be implemented in the form of an SME advisory 
body that can accompany and advance the discussions as a competent interlocutor. The 
advisory body would also  facilitate the exchange of best practices among SME representatives, 
such as the chambers. [DIHK]  
 
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