EUROCOMMERCE VOICES THE INTERESTS OF SME’s

by Secretary-general Mr. J.W.B. Baron van Till:

“Small in size, but giants in economy”: That was the message delivered by EuroCommerce, the umbrella lobbying organisation of commerce in Europe. The message was delivered at the public forum organised by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a panel with Representatives from the business world and the European Commission, EuroCommerce recalled the weight of small- and medium sized companies in world economy:

• in the EU, SME’s represent 99,8% of businesses. They provide 100m jobs (2/3 of all private sector jobs) and account for 57,4% of the total European value added;
• in the US, 99,7% of companies are SME’s, employing 50,3% of the workforce and accounting for 40% of total economic activity;
• in Japan, SME’s represent 99% of business. They employ 72% of workers in the manufacturing sector and contribute to 52% of the manufacturing output;
• in China, 99% of companies are SME’s, representing 73% of the total workforce. They provide 60% of the industrial gross output.

The Secretary-General of EuroCommerce, Mr. X. Durieu, stressed that decision makers in Geneva and in all WTO Member States can not ignore the enormous economic role SME’s play on the world stage, and must provide them with the best framework conditions to operate and prosper. SME’s have neither the infrastructure nor the human capital to cope with an overly complex trading environment. They need a stable, simple, transparent, predictable and reliable framework governing their business. As a representative of the retail-, wholesale- and international trade in 29 European countries, EuroCommerce therefore urged the 151 WTO Members to first and above all take the interests of SME’s into consideration in the negotiation process for a new WTO-Agreement.