INF/MSME/R/32  
 
20 April 2022 
(22-3157) Page: 1/2 
  Original: English  
 
 
INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON MSME  
OPEN -ENDED MEETING OF 7 APRIL  2022 
Summary of discussions  
The following communication, dated 19 April 2022, is being circulated at the request of the 
Coordinator of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs.  
 
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The MSME Informal Working Group (MSME Group) met for its second open-ended meeting of the 
year on 7 April 2022. A total of 62 delegations1 attended the hybrid meeting, including 7 non-working 
Group members (Angola , Cambodia , Sri Lank a, Tanzania , Thailand , Togo, and the United States of 
America).  
 
1  SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS  
1.1.  Members were updated on current developments of the Trade4MSMEs website, which has now 
been translated into French and Spanish. Following from the suggestion at the Group's first meeting, 
invitations were also sent out to 11 international organizations2 doing work related to MSME trade 
to join a Trade4MSMEs Network and become partners of the platform. Positive responses were 
received from the ITC, OECD, UNCITRAL, WCO and WIPO. The Trade4MSMEs Network will meet once 
a year to ensure regular updates are submitted for the website and explore possible synergies for 
future work. The Network is expected to  be launched on the outskirts of MC12.  
1.2.  The international situation was highlighted under the agenda item ad dressing implementation 
of the package. Various statements were made including the importance of elements of the package 
for all MSMEs, but especially those in vulnerable situations, including  access to information and 
trade-related finance.  Related to imp lementation of the package itself, Japan informed the MSME 
Group that it is considering including a separate MSME section in their upcoming Trade Policy Review 
as per Annex 1 and Uruguay updated the Group on its establishment of automatic data submission 
to the WTO as encouraged in Annex 5 through support of the 2019 IDB decision.  
1.3.  Three presentations were received in relation to implementation of the 2020 MSME package. 
The ITC gave an update presentation on the Global Trade Helpdesk (GTH), thanking the 39 M embers 
 
1 Albania; Angola ; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Bahrain , Kingdom of ; Brazil; Cambodia ; Canada; Chile; 
China; Costa Rica; Czech Republic; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; European Union; France; The 
Gambia; Germany; Grenada; Guyana; Hong Kong, China; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Japan; Kazakhstan; 
Korea, Republic of; Liechtenstein; M acao, China; Malaysia; Mexico; Moldova, Republic  of; Myanmar; 
Netherlands; New Zealand; Nicaragua ; Nigeria;  Norway; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Romania; Russian 
Federation; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Singapore; Slovak Republic; Spain; Sri Lanka ; Sweden; Swit zerland; 
Tanzania ; Chinese Taipei; Thailand ; Togo; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States of America ; 
Uruguay; Viet Nam (non-MSME Group members are in italics ). 
2 Invitations were sent to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) , International 
Finance Corporation (IFC) , International Trade Centre (ITC) , International Telecommunication Union (ITU) , 
Organization for Economic Co -operation and Development (OECD) , United Nations Economic Commission for 
Europe (UNECE) , United Nations Co mmission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) , United Nations 
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) , World Customs Organization (WCO) , World Intellectual 
Property Organization (WIPO) , and the World Bank.  INF/MSME/R/32  
 
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  who have verified their national information as per Annex 2 of the package and detailing planned 
GTH informational webinars. The second presentation focused on the first review of the TFA as it 
related to Annex 3 of the package. It was noted that th e TFA provides predictability and uniformity 
in trade standards which benefit MSMEs substantially more. Further, the TFA Committee is planning 
to hold a five -year anniversary with the possibility to suggest related sessions . Canada commented 
that it will b e organizing a discussion around single windows and encouraged members of the MSME 
Group to influence the MSME aspect of the event.  Pertaining to Annex 5, the Group received a third 
presentation on the implementation of the 2019 IDB decision that streamlin es processes and allows 
integration of additional data elements. Canada and Uruguay have already established direct 
transmission of related data and others are in advanced talks, all of which would ensure updated 
and accessible information for businesses . 
1.4.  Concerning MSME -related discussions in other committees, the Secretariat briefed the Group 
on  MSME -relevant work  in the TBT  Committee  including assessing conformity procedures, increasing 
transparency through ePing , and good regulatory practices. The Committee will also hold a thematic 
discussion on how to better integrate MSMEs within the TBT Committee's considerations in July 2022 
and Members were invited to suggest proposed topics and speakers.  
1.5.  The Secretariat presented on the updated report regarding MSME references in regional trade 
agreements (INF/MSME/W/6/Rev.3) and the associated online database . More than  half (56 per 
cent) of in -force RTAs contain at least one reference to MSME -related provisions and the share and 
variety of such provisions continues to increase. Members noted an interest in additional research 
on the broader economic impacts of such refe rences and whether they had a measurable impact on 
MSMEs, especially relating to e -commerce chapters.  
1.6.  A presentation was received from the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) concerning the ir approach 
to cyber readiness for MSMEs and their free-to-use toolkit of M SME resources they have developed. 
Overall, the GCA is focused on building a secure and trustworthy internet including by building a 
domain trust community for information sharing and best practices. T ools that the GCA has 
developed for MSMEs  include six g uided steps for better MSME cyber security, skills assessments 
and video trainings.  These steps include knowing what a business has already; applying relevant 
updates, such as for software; using strong passwords; ensuring systems are backed up and 
recover able; and finally, protecting email. The Toolkit itself is accessible via an interactive website  
with a menu bar, guided popups, video introductions and handb ooks on the relevant topics. Besides 
a toolkit for business, the GCA also offers cybersecurity toolkits for other potential users including 
mission -based organizations and financial institutions.  
1.7.  Following the successful 2021 Digital Champions for Small Bu siness Initiative held together 
with the ICC and the ITC, the MSME Group agreed  to make this an annual event with new 
competitions launched on MSME Day and awardees recognized at the end of the year. Both the ICC 
and ITC are on board and the proposed 2022 theme would tie in with helping MSMEs go green.  
1.8.  Plans for MC12 were discussed including a proposed meeting at the ministerial level on the 
outskirts of MC12 on 12 June 2022. Plans for MSME Day were also raised, with a proposed event to 
take place on 24 Jun e. 
2  NEXT STEPS  
2.1.  The next scheduled  open-ended meeting of the MSME Group for 11 May 2022 will be convened 
only if required  before the ministerial . 
 
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