Last week, Brian Bieron, Executive Director of eBay Inc.’s Public Policy Lab, joined industry leaders and policymakers at the Global Supply Chain Summit in Washington DC. 

Bieron specifically discussed how technology is revolutionizing global trade for businesses of every size, from the individual entrepreneur to the largest businesses.  This is a revolutionary phenomenon providing businesses access to billions of the world's consumers instantly.   eBay Inc. has looked at countries around the world and have found that technology is changing the face of global trade.  Technology-enabled businesses are more likely to export, export to more countries, and survive longer than their offline counterparts.  Businesses of all sizes are able to simultaneously maintain a local presence, contribute to the local economy, and increase revenue through access to a global consumer base.

Bieron also explained that public policy has an important role to play in enabling global trade.  eBay Inc. is innovating constantly to remove some of the classical frictions that have been associated with global trade.  However, the current policy framework was not designed for technology-enabled trade.  eBay Inc. research demonstrates that free trade agreements do not have a strong effect on technology-enabled trade.  The major frictions come in the form of customs and shipping.  When eBay Inc. has seen a reduction of friction from trade liberalization we have noted that inclusive commerce grows, and small business jobs grow.   Bieron urged participants to continue working together to remove these frictions.

Learn more about eBay Inc.’s position on enabling global trade.