JOB/GC/191  
 
3 July 2018 
(18-4157) Page: 1/2 
General Council  Original: English  
 
INFORMAL WORKING GRO UP ON MSME s 
SECOND OPEN -ENDED THEMATIC SESSI ON 
IMPROVING ACCESS TO INFORMATIO N FOR MSME s: TAKEAWAYS AND NEXT S TEPS  
The following communication, dated 26 June 2018 , is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Switzerland, as  co-coordinator of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs  and 
organizer of this session , and the delegation of Uruguay, as general coordinator of the Informal 
Working Group on MSMEs.  
 
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Reflecting on the Informal Group of MSMEs thematic sessio n held at the WTO on 22 May 2018, we, 
the co -coordinator and general coordinator of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs, took note of 
the following key messages from speakers and participants.  
 
This meeting was a follow -up to the thematic open -ended sessio n on Access to Information that 
was held on 27 March 2018 (see JOB/GC/183/Rev.1) . 
 
1  REMARKS BY SPEAKERS  
1.1.  Mr Mimouni from the ITC gave an update on the  Global Trade Helpdesk ( GTH) project.  He 
noted that a  trust fund to support implementation of the GTH has been established  and fundraising 
for further development i s ongoing. The ITC is also working with a designer to make the GTH more 
user-friendly. Data collection  is underway and t he ITC is also now developing  a capacity building 
program . On the language di mension , he explained that the website would be translated into the 
6 UN languages  within the next  three years.  As having the information available in n ational 
language s is important , the ITC would need to work very closely with national governments  for 
translation and input . Concerning focal points, he noted that there are a lready many at the 
national level . However, t here is a need for improved synergy.  
1.2.  Mr Loridan of ITC made a presentation on the ePing SPS/TBT notification alert system.    
2  DISCUSSION  
Following the presentations, the floor was opened to participants to comment and react. Members 
discussed concrete actions they could take, including :  
 
a. Country Survey s 
i. The idea of a survey to map information sources was discussed. The Chair invited the 
ITC to prepare the necessary material. The survey would then be sent to Members to 
complete. Members who are not part of the informal working group on MSMEs but 
who are also interested in this issue are invited to signal their interest to the group 
coordinat ors or the ITC.  
b. National Contact Points  
i. Members generally supported the need for national contact points to allow the 
managers of the GTH to more easily interact with the national authorities that retain 
relevant information. Various approaches were discus sed ranging from leveraging JOB/GC/191  
 
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  already existing contact points, such as those established under the TFA, to 
establishing new structures. The idea of national contact points that could answer 
MSMEs ' queries was also raised.  
ii. It was felt that further discussion  was required on this issue. A  follow -up meeting 
would be organized in the coming months to  further discuss the question of the 
national contact points.  
c. How to further improve access to information  with the WTO framework  
i. The work done in the TBT and SPS committees to enhance transparency was flagged. 
It was suggested that the Group should continue to explore ways to further improve 
access to information , including t hrough the work of relevant WTO bodies . 
3  NEXT STEPS  
a. The ITC w ill develop a draft survey to m ap information sources for the GTH. The survey 
would then be sent to the Group for Members to complete.  
b. A follow -up meeting will be organized in the coming months to  further discuss the 
question of the national contact points.  The Chair invited Members to reflect on  best 
practices  and experiences . 
c. The Chair also invited Members to reflect on other initiatives that the Group could take 
to improve access to info rmation  for MSMEs.  
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