Last week, eBay hosted 12 senior staff members of the European Parliament as part of their ten-day visit to the U.S. to learn more about the impact of trade in the U.S. and the country's role in the negotiation and approval of trade agreements.  eBay Government Relations had the pleasure of taking the group through the Commerce Innovation Showcase and speaking to them about eBay's role as an enabler of small business growth and the power of technology-enabled trade.

As the eBay team emphasized, small businesses have much to gain from a new generation of trade agreements that put the needs of consumers and small traders at the center.  After all, small technology-enabled businesses are global traders and the growth for cross-border online shopping is substantial - projected to grow from $114 billion in 2013 to $307 billion by 2018!*

eBay's platforms help facilitate that growth.  We currently help hundreds of thousands of European small businesses sell and collect payments.  In fact, approximately 95% of eBay's French, German, and UK sellers export, and 80% of those export to more than five countries.

*Projected value of cross-border online shopping across the US, UK, Germany, Australia, China and Brazil, according to the PayPal/Nielsen report, Modern Spice Routes: The Cultural  Impact and Economic Opportunity of Cross-Border Shopping