This week, eBay Inc.’s Director of Global Public Policy and Head of eBay Inc. Public Policy Lab for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hanne Melin partnered with Dan Ciuriak, Director and Principal at Ciuriak Consulting Inc., and penned a blog post entitled “Promoting Small Business Utilisation of Market Access under the Mega-Regionals”. The blog post was featured by the E15 Initiative, which engages world-class institutions and trade experts in an effort to identify and meet “ the challenges and demands of the world economy and sustainable development today and in 2025”.

In their post, Melin and Ciuriak explain that current mega-regional preferential trade negotiations risk leaving out small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and in particular those leveraging the Internet and technology to become multi-country exporters. Although these agreements will improve market access by lowering tariffs to firms in participating states, the administrative burden of demonstrating compliance with cumbersome rules of origin will be disproportionately heavy for SMEs that make smaller shipments. 

However, Melin and Ciuriak argue that policymakers could  remedy this exclusion by reformulating the de minimis rule for waiver of origin certificate requirements. Rather than the more or less standard de minimis provision exempting shipments with a face value of US$1000 or less, the de minimis provision could be recast in terms of face value of duty paid.

Visit E15 Initiative to read more about Melin and Ciuriak’s recommendations to policymakers, or visit eBay Inc. to find more information on the Public Policay Lab.