Leading EU and US policy makers gathered in Brussels on 30 January at the Annual EU-US Trade Conference. Tod Cohen, eBay Inc.'s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Global Government Relations, spoke on the plenary panel to discuss measures which can be taken to ensure that the planned EU-US Free Trade Agreement (the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership, or TTIP) helps small businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic benefit from online trade.

The theme for a recent talk during a Dutch Ministry event was “Inspiration For Development – Trade 2.0”, and Hanne Melin of the eBay Inc.

Attendees, pictured above: Andrew Robb, Minister for Trade and Investment; Kim Beazley, Australian Ambassador to the U.S.; Nigel Warren, Consul-General, Senior Trade & Investment Commissioner, Australian Consulate-General, San Francisco; Chris Decure, First Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Angus Barker, Senior Advisor to Minister Robb; John Brenton, Vice Consul, Australian Consulate-General, Los Angeles.

Australia’s Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to Shadow Treasurer, Ed Husic and Shadow Minister for Communications, Jason Clare got an up close look at the future of “connected commerce” Wednesday during a visit to eBay Inc.'s headquarters in San Jose.  They took a tour of eBay’s Commerce Innovation Showcase to see first-hand how eBay and PayPal-enabled businesses in their electorates and around the world use Internet and mobile technology to help small and medium-sized businesses.

On 9 January, the British Institute for International and Comparative Law launched discussions on “new thinking about the interaction between regulation and innovation”. Hanne Melin of eBay Inc. Public Policy Lab was one of the panelists.

The eBay Inc. Government Relations Team wishes you a very happy New Year! We have a lot of exciting things planned for 2014 and look forward to your continued support in the coming year.  

All of us at the eBay Inc. Government Relations office would like to wish Main Street members a happy, healthy and safe holiday season. This year was one of our most-successful years to date – we grew our membership, raised awareness about Commerce 3.0, and worked to protect small businesses from unfair Internet sales tax burdens. We couldn’t have had such a great year without the support of our members. Thank for making your voice heard in 2013. 

eBay Inc. Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Global Government Relations Tod Cohen joined representatives from the World Bank and the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday in Washington, D.C. to discuss barriers and opportunities for small businesses around the world. Cohen explained how eBay Inc.’s commerce platforms are creating opportunities and building a global empowerment network for the world’s small businesses.

At the PublicAffairsAsia Gold Awards Reception, Jamie Shen presented the eBay Gold Standard Award For Country or Trade Promotion on behalf of eBay to Kreab Gavin Anderson. This award recognizes effective communications and public affairs activity in the project Reconstructing Miyagi, one of Japan's Prefecture profoundly affected by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. The Award focuses on the work of chambers of commerce, embassies, trade and industry groups and government trade promotion and investment agencies.

Pictured (left to right): Sassoon Grigorian, Head of Public Policy, APAC eBay Inc.; Melina Rohan, Policy Director, Digital Policy Group; Ed Husic, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer