Last week, a representative from the eBay Inc. Public Policy Lab spoke on a panel called “Future of e-Commerce and Other Online Activities in Asia” at the “Asia Business Conference 2014.”  The panel was held at the Harvard Business School. The conference was organized by student organizations of Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, with the participation of Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 

eBay presented on technology enabled trade in Asia and the Commerce 3.0 phenomena of small businesses all around the world engaging in cross border trade. Over the years, digital marketplaces, like eBay and PayPal, have made it easier for small businesses to break down the traditional barriers of commerce and participate in the global market.  Small businesses in the Asia Pacific region are no different.  For example, according to a recent study of eBay-enabled merchants in the Asia Pacific, 82% of merchants sell to buyers outside of their countries while nearly 60% sell to five or more foreign countries.

eBay Inc. believes that policymakers all around the world need to rethink trade policies and focus on how can we get the international trade rules right to ensure continued growth of technology enabled small business trade.  To learn more about eBay Inc.’s trade policy priorities, please visit Commerce 3.0.