In early October, international trade officials announced the conclusion of negotiations into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which would update rules impacting ecommerce exports in the Asia-Pacific region.  Negotiating countries include: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chili, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.  Altogether, these nations represent 40% of the global GDP and roughly one-third trade across the globe. 

Over 90% of American small businesses on eBay export and one in three of their exports are to customers in a TPP country.  These trade trends are notable, but even more impressive when you consider that less than 5% of traditional small businesses in the U.S. export. 

Unfortunately, Internet-enabled businesses are sometimes unable to reach international customers because outdated trade rules do not accommodate small ecommerce exporters.  Modernized trade agreements, like TPP, offer the best opportunity to break down trade policy barriers that limit small Internet-enabled businesses.

While the final text is not yet available to the public, the negotiating countries have announced that the agreement will bring important benefits to small ecommerce businesses and the global services that support them.  Notably, the agreement seeks to simplify global customs systems, preserve an open Internet, and reduce barriers to trade for small businesses.  

The TPP is of top importance to the micro-multinationals that use eBay to reach global customers.  As more details on TPP are made public, eBay will work with its seller community to communicate the benefits of Internet-enabled trade to TPP stakeholders. 

Visit https://ustr.gov/tpp/ to learn more about the TPP trade agreement.