trade topics
Small business and trade
The participation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in international trade has remained limited for numerous reasons. These include lack of relevant skills, lack of knowledge about international markets, non-tariff barriers, cumbersome regulations and border procedures, and limited access to finance, in particular trade finance. The smaller the company, the greater the challenges faced in participating in international trade. The WTO has launched a number of initiatives to help MSMEs play a more active role in world trade.
See also:
- Trade finance
- Trade Dialogues
- MSME provisions in regional trade agreements
- MSME references in trade policy reviews
Guides from Trade4MSMEs.org
News
WTO initiatives
Informal Working Group on MSMEs
The Informal Working Group on MSMEs was launched at the 11th Ministerial Conference in December 2017. The Group aims to identify and address obstacles to MSME participation in international trade. It currently consists of 91 WTO members and is open to all members.
Global Trade Helpdesk
The Global Trade Helpdesk is an online platform that simplifies market research for companies, especially MSMEs, by integrating trade and business information into a single online portal. The Helpdesk was launched jointly by the International Trade Centre, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the WTO at the WTO’s 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in December 2017.
Global Trade Helpdesk: trade intelligence for all
Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance
The Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance looks into how trade-related measures can contribute to solving the problems of debt faced by developing countries and how to improve the availability of trade finance, notably for MSMEs.
Government procurement
The WTO's Government Procurement Committee launched a work programme on MSMEs in 2012 to facilitate MSME participation in government procurement projects and to maximize their potential for growth. Increasing MSMEs participation in government procurement also ensures a more competitive bidding process, thus achieving better value for money in government purchases.
More about government procurement
Intellectual property
In the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), WTO members exchange information about their policies aimed at supporting MSMEs' creativity, inventiveness and investments in research and technology. Members have recognized the particular significance of intellectual property rights for small businesses, whose intellectual capital is often their main asset. The MSME-related policies presented in that context include financial assistance schemes, streamlining application procedures, and enhanced transparency of intellectual property rules.
Aid for Trade
The 2018-19 Work Programme for Aid for Trade (A4T), a multi-stakeholder initiative, looked into how trade could contribute to economic diversification, empowerment and poverty reduction through the effective participation of MSMEs, women and youth. The programme also reviewed how A4T addresses trade-related infrastructure constraints, including for MSMEs. The draft programme for 2020-21 stresses the importance of MSME-dominated sectors, such as agriculture and tourism, in boosting economic development.
Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF)
The WTO, in collaboration with other agencies, supports initiatives designed to assist developing countries benefit from trading opportunities. The EIF helps governments address constraints related to competitiveness, growth potential and supply chain weaknesses, including specific constraints faced by MSMEs. The STDF helps governments improve the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to increase trading opportunities for MSMEs.
More about the EIF and the STDF
Initiatives with the private sector and others
Trade Dialogues
MSME participation in international trade is one of the issues discussed by the WTO's Trade Dialogues series, where stakeholders such as the private sector have the opportunity to highlight issues they find important.
Small Business Champions
Launched in 2021 by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the WTO Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), the Small Business Champions is an annual competition that provides an opportunity for businesses, industry associations, chambers of commerce and non-governmental organizations to propose innovative, practical ways of helping small businesses play a more active role in world trade.
More about the Small Business Champions
MSME research notes
Recent Evolution of Developed-economy MSME Participation in
International Trade
This research note updates figures and information from the 2016
World Trade Report for developed-economy MSME trade
participation.
Find out more
Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprise Trade Participation
in Developing Economies
This research note updates figures and information from the 2016
World Trade Report on small and medium-sized manufacturing
enterprise trade participation within developing economies.
Find out more
Small Business and Climate Change
This research note uses survey responses from a Meta business
questionnaire to investigate MSME perceptions of decarbonization
and its intersection with trade.
Find out more
Examining MSMEs’ Composition and Participation in
International Trade Through Meta Survey Data
Drawing on data from Meta’s March 2022 Future of Business (FoB)
survey, this research note aims to provide a detailed analysis
of the demographic composition of these MSMEs and their trade
dynamics across different regions and level of development,
while considering factors such as gender and age.
Find out more
Examining MSMEs and Digital Readiness through Meta Survey
Data
Drawing on data from Meta’s March 2022 Future of Business (FoB)
survey, this research note provides insights into the digital
readiness of these MSMEs, highlighting variations in digital
adoption across region, gender, and business size. It presents
the main purposes of digital platform use among businesses, such
as advertising and communication, and the challenges faced by
MSMEs to use these tools, including a lack of technical skills
and associated fees for platform use.
Find out more
WTO publications on MSMEs
Study Report on Integration of MSMEs into Authorized Economic
Operator (AEO) Programmes
Find out more
Trade and Poverty Reduction: New evidence of impacts in
developing countries (2018)
This report presents eight case studies that demonstrate how the
reduction in high trade transaction costs faced by small-scale
traders can help reduce poverty in developing countries.
Find out more
Aid for Trade at a Glance 2017: Promoting trade,
inclusiveness and connectivity for sustainable development
(2017)
This report describes how digital connectivity helps connect
MSMEs to international trade opportunities and how Aid for Trade
addresses digital connectivity barriers.
Find out more
World Trade Report 2016 - Levelling the trading field for
SMEs (2016)
This report examines the participation of SMEs in international
trade, how the international trade landscape is changing for
SMEs, and what the multilateral trading system does and can do
to encourage more widespread and inclusive SME participation in
global markets.
Find out more
Trade Finance and SMEs: Bridging the gaps in provision
(2016)
This report discusses the challenges faced by MSMEs in accessing
trade finance and provides a set of recommendations for
addressing the gap in trade finance provision, with a view to
enhancing the trading capacity of MSMEs in developing
countries
Find out more
Connecting Developing Country SMEs to Global Value
Chains
This ITC-WTO report explores constraints faced by exporting
MSMEs in 23 least developed countries, and how Aid for Trade
initiatives address these challenges for MSMEs.
Find out more
E-commerce in Developing Countries: Opportunities and
challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises
(2013)
This report assesses how issues concerning adequate levels of
telecoms infrastructure, regulation and investment either help
or hinder MSMEs from finding new opportunities through
e-commerce.
Find out more
WTO working papers on MSMEs
International trade and cyber-readiness: A review of micro,
small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) perception and
practice (2026)
This paper considers how cyber-readiness impacts trade
participation rates, especially of micro-, small- and medium-sized
enterprises (MSMEs).
Multinational corporation Supplier Transparency: A Review of
MSME and Developing Economy Participation in Global Value
Chains using Corporate Social Responsibility reporting
(2026)
Drawing from CSR reports of twenty multinationals identified using
the Forbes 2000 list of publicly traded MNCs and covering over
10,000 supplying factories in the apparel, accessories, and
footwear sectors, it develops summary statistics on supplier
location, factory size, and employee gender distribution.
B2B E-commerce marketplaces and MSMES: evidence of Global
Value Chain facilitation? (2022)
Reviews evidence for MSME participation in business-to-business
e-commerce marketplaces.
Provisions on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Regional
Trade Agreements (2018)
Analyses MSME-related provisions in regional trade agreements.
E-commerce and Developing Country-SME Participation in Global
Value Chains (2018)
Looks at evidence from the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey
Database that digital connectivity increases the participation of
MSMEs in developing countries in global value chains.
Supply Chain Finance and SMEs: Evidence from international
factoring data (2016)
The unbundling of trade across regions offers unique opportunities
for SMEs to integrate into global trade, notably through their
involvement in supply chains. This paper looks at its effects,
using data from Factor Chain International.
SMEs in Services Trade – a GATS Perspective (2012)
Seeks to provide an overview of issues that WTO members might want
to address in the WTO, from promoting compliance with transparency
disciplines under existing provisions to advancing the
liberalization and rule-making mandates of the General Agreement
on Trade in Services (GATS) with an SME focus.
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