Ebay calls for SMEs to have a bigger voice on trade negotiations

// Ebay calls for UK’s SMEs to have a bigger impact on negotiations

// The online giant revealed the initiative 2 months ahead of Brexit

// Ebay also revealed data that highlighted the contribution of SMEs on UK exports

Ebay has called for the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses to have a bigger voice when it comes to future trade negotiations.

The online marketplace revealed the initiative two months ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU, while also highlighting the contribution that SMEs have on UK exports.

Ebay called for “the voices of these entrepreneurial exporters to be heard in debates over future trade deals” as the October 31 Brexit deadline nears.

The online giant drew data from the 200,000 UK-based SMEs trading on its platform.

In the past 12 months, 64 per cent of Ebay’s UK-based sellers have exported products internationally – and export sales have grown more than 25 per cent in the past five years.

The data also revealed that the top three export markets for UK SME sellers on Ebay are the US, Germany and France, with products such as mobile phones, watches and laptops among the most commonly exported goods.

Meanwhile, the biggest growth in exports from Ebay UK over the past 12 months came from The Philippines, with CD, DVD and Blu-ray sales boosting revenues by 20 per cent.

“The debate about business in Britain has often ignored the contribution of UK small businesses to international trade,” Ebay UK vice president Rob Hattrell said.

“When it comes to the big issues like Brexit, trade deals, and Britain’s economic future, small businesses, which are the lifeblood of the economy, should have a far greater voice.

“The reason we’re publishing this data is to show there are small businesses up and down the UK working hard, day in, day out, to grow and build their businesses.”

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