Yesterday, Washington small business owner, Steve Douge, participated in a trade panel on Capitol Hill. The event, hosted by the Internet Association, was entitled “The Internet & Global Trade”. In attendance were Congressional staffers, industry representatives and small business trade advocates. The goal of the event was to highlight the opportunities the Internet has created for U.S. small businesses to participate in the global marketplace. In fact, according to a report released by the Internet Association, 97% of US technology-enabled commercial sellers export their products overseas to an average of 30 countries.

Steve Douge is the Director of Online Sales at family-owned Hardwaresales.com. Originally founded in 1962, the family-owned company opened a Hardware Sales Internet division to sell their products through eBay in 2007. They now also sell through their website, which serves customers around the world. During the event, Steve explained the opportunities the Internet has created for Hardware Sales overseas. "The Internet created immense opportunity for Hardware Sales Inc. Today about 25% of our shipments are international, and that makes up approximately 30% of our overall revenue. “

In addition to discussing the tremendous opportunities Internet-enabled trade has provided to small businesses, the panelists discussed some of the barriers that still remain.

“There are still barriers that small business traders like myself face every day,” explained Douge.  “Low de minimis thresholds and poor harmonization of custom codes come to mind."

eBay Inc. believes that global trade rules should be modernized to ensure small businesses can participate in technology-enabled global commerce. For instance, eBay supports legislation that would reduce customs complexity, particularly for low-value packages and retail returns.

Find more information on eBay Incs.’s position on enabling small business trade.