INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON MSMES
DRAFT CONVENING NOTICE
The
following draft convening notice, dated 7 February 2025, is being
circulated at the request of the
Coordinator of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs, Ambassador Matthew Wilson (Barbados). Delegations wishing to
include an item on the agenda are invited to contact the secretariat (msmegroup@wto.org) no later than cob Tuesday,
18 February 2025.
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The Informal
Working Group on MSMEs will hold its next regular meeting in hybrid mode on Wednesday 5 March 2025, starting
at 10:00 (full-day meeting). In-person participation is encouraged by the coordinator.
For delegates
wishing to join remotely via the Interprefy platform, a technical guide
summarizing logistical details for participation in Interprefy meetings will be
made available on the Members' interactive calendar of meetings, and can also
be found at: WTO Interprefy Delegate Guide.
I items proposed for the agenda
1 THEMATIC
DISCUSSIONS
1.1 Good Regulatory Practices
The thematic discussion on Good
Regulatory Practices, based on a proposal from the United Kingdom _INF/MSME/W/52, was postponed from
the 10 December 2024 meeting. Members are invited to
contribute to the discussion, with a view to developing a compendium on good regulatory practices for
MSMEs as outlined in _INF/MSME/W/61.
The following guiding questions
are proposed:
·_
Does your economy involve MSMEs in
the development of trade regulations and legislation, and if so, how?
·_
How does your economy alert
constituents, especially MSMEs, of trade regulatory changes and has your
economy identified methods that are effective?
·_
Has your economy conducted impact
studies to identify how trade regulatory changes may affect MSMEs?
·_
Has your economy considered language
in your regional trade agreements related to good regulatory practices and is
there a MSME or inclusive trade focus?
1.2 Informality
In their proposal _INF/MSME/W/54,
Mexico proposed continuing discussions on the issue of business informality. The
discussion will be informed by presentations from the International Labour Organization,
the International Trade Centre, the World Bank, Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às
Micro e Pequenas Empresas (SEBRAE, Brazil).
The following guiding questions
are proposed by Mexico:
·_
What are the key
barriers that MSMEs face in transitioning from informal to formal sectors?
·_
How can
legislative frameworks be structured to support rather than hinder this
transition?
·_
What role can
international cooperation play in harmonizing these efforts?
Following the presentations,
Members will be invited to share their own experiences on how informal
businesses can take the step to formality. In addition, Members are encouraged
to express their views on what the MSME Group could do to further address
informality.
2 AUTHORIZED ECONOMIC
OPERATORS
Following the issuance of its
joint compendium with the World Customs Organization (WCO) on Special
Provisions for MSMEs in Authorized Economic Operator (AEO)Programs (_INF/MSME/W/47/Rev.2) and as discussed at the meeting of 10 December 2024,
a joint report is being prepared with the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and
the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on Authorized Economic Operator
(AEO) Programmes with MSME considerations to incorporate findings from recent
WCO and ICC work. An overview of the draft report will be presented by the WCO.
Members will be able to review the draft report prior to the meeting and share
comments at the meeting.
3 IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE DECEMBER 2020 MSME PACKAGE
Members will be invited to share
updates on actions taken to implement the December 2020 MSME package (_INF/MSME/4/Rev.2).
Members will be invited to report on:
·_
Inclusion of MSME
information in trade policy reviews (TPRs) – Members having undergone a recent
Trade Policy Review will be invited to report on their inclusion of MSME
information in their TPRs (Annex 1 of _INF/MSME/4/Rev.2);
·_
Actions taken to
support the Global Trade Helpdesk (Annex 2);
·_
Trade
facilitation measures for MSMEs (Annex 3);
·_
Inclusion of
MSMEs in the development of trade regulations to minimize regulatory burden
(Annex 4);
·_
Implementation of
the 2019 Integrated Database Decision (Annex 5). The Secretariat will make
a presentation on the automatic data exchange of tariff and import data;
·_
Actions taken to
facilitate MSME access to finance, including trade finance, and cross-border
payments (Annex 6).
4 MC14 Preparation
4.1 Organization of work and deliverables
Members will be invited to discuss
the organization of work in 2025 and MC14 preparations. Members will also be
invited to share their views on possible outcomes for MC14.
5 STRENGTHENING
ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
5.1 MSME Spotlight
We will have our first MSME
Spotlight of 2025 by showcasing fairafric,
who will join the MSME Group to share their trade experience as a small
business. Fairafric is an enterprise that produces organic chocolate, entirely
from bean to bar, in Ghana, aiming to create more local value and employment.
By manufacturing chocolate locally, fairafric aims to increase incomes for
cocoa farmers and contribute to sustainable economic development in Ghana. In addition, Members will
be invited to make suggestions for businesses/initiatives to spotlight in future
meetings of the Group.
5.2 [OTHER ENGAGEMENTS]
6 [BRIEFINGS ON MSME-RELATED DISCUSSIONS IN OTHER WTO BODIES]
[The WTO Secretariat will
provide a briefing on MSME related discussions in other WTO bodies.]
7 OTHER BUSINESS
7.1 2025 Small Business Champion
On 28 January the Small Business
Champions Competition 2025 with the topic "2025:
Completing the loop: Helping small businesses contribute to the circular
economy" was launched. Applications are encouraged by
initiatives and MSMEs in this area until 28 March 2025. More information can be
found here: WTO |
ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group Small Business Champions.
7.2 Any Other Business
II ORGANIZATIONAL arrangements
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