It has been 4 years since the establishment of Ecommerce Europe, the Brussels-based umbrella organization for shops that sell products or services online. We hope to welcome our 20th country from the European Union this year. At the moment, more than 25,000 online and regular shops are represented in Brussels. Ecommerce Europe not only protects the interests of major companies, but also those of thousands of SMEs. These are small online and regular shops, of which the people work hard every day in order to serve their customers in the best possible way through digital commerce.
Call for e-WTO
It was Jack Ma, Alibaba’s founder and current Chairman of the Board, who called for the foundation of a World Trade Organization for e-commerce during the APEC meeting in November 2015. This new association should combine the powers in the field of global e-commerce and guarantee the interests of SMEs. According to Ma, the current WTO, which primarily represents the interests of larger companies, is not capable of protecting the interests of SMEs. A new WTO 2.0 or e-WTO would make it possible for SMEs to grow through digital commerce.
Uniting the interests of major companies and SME associations
To me, public-private cooperation is at the core of such a movement to a global partnership. I believe such a partnership should benefit both large and small companies. Together with their interest groups, they will have to be at the foundation of an e-WTO, in which large global challenges in the areas of safety, data, payments, privacy, sustainability and, needless to say, trade barriers are on the agenda. Exactly these challenges can unite large companies and SMEs.
By setting up an e-WTO, digital commerce receives the attention it deserves. Founding an e-WTO fits in perfectly with current times, in which e-commerce associations are being established all over the world. The main reason why this is done is to draw attention to the interests and challenges of digital commerce. Naturally, in time, the WTO and e-WTO will merge, just like retail association and e-commerce association. However, this does not affect the necessity of facilitating the future of digital commerce right now with an e-WTO. Let us join forces regarding topics that are currently important in the daily life of entrepreneurs. Let us take this step in the interest of existing retail associations and of new e-commerce associations.
Next step
On behalf of Ecommerce Europe, I took the initiative to invite a number of e-commerce associations from over the whole world to Brussels last year. This took place prior to the Global E-commerce Summit in Barcelona and all European associations were represented. In addition, representatives of e-commerce associations from, among others, China, the United States (NRF/Shop.org), Japan, Costa Rica and Egypt attended the meeting. They were present at what we would call the first “Worldwide Round Table”. This year, a new Round Table is scheduled in Barcelona on May 29. I believe setting up an e-WTO would make a nice agenda item for this.
Please note, this blog was written in New York City, where I am meeting with executives of retail associations worldwide to talk about matters that concern global retail. FIRAE is the network organization that strives to improve the mutual understanding between associations, under the leadership of the American National Retail Federation (NRF). Tomorrow, NRF’s Big Show will kick-off with more than 35,000 visitors.
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