eu trade policy practical tools for...

Civil Society Dialogue - Trade and SMEsBrussels, 31 March 2011European Commission

Martin Pilser - Trade DG Gunnar Matthiesen – Enterprise and Industry DG

EU Trade PolicyPractical tools for SMEs

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SME internationalisation

• Around 23 million SMEs in EU

• Internationalisation of SMEs13% of SMEs export activities outside the EU14% import activitiesOther modes of internationalisation: technical co-operation,

subcontractor, investmentInternationalised SMEs - around 10% of turnover outside EU7% to 10% of exporting SMEs sell to Brazil, Russia, India and ChinaLink between innovation – competitiveness – export success

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SME internationalisation

• Main barriers for SMEs

Financial and human resourcesExport market informationMarket access, standards, intellectual propertyprotection etc.Other barriers

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SMEs and trade policy

EU trade policy tools for

• Opening markets• Reducing trade barriers• Providing information and practical

support

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Opening markets

Fair and rules based international trade(SMEs have less means than larger companies)Agreements, dialogues and negotiations:- multilateral (WTO, Doha Round, trade

facilitation etc.)- bilateral (Free Trade Agreements, other agreements)- plurilateral (procurement)

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Reducing trade barriers

Market Access Strategy services- Partnership cooperation between Member States,

European Commission and business

- Tackling barriers behind the borders

- Help of Market Access Teams in key export markets- Monitoring international agreements

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Providing information and practical support

For EU exporters: Market Access Database

- Exporter’s guide, applied tariffs, trade statistics, tradebarrier database

- Complaints register

Free on-line service useful for basic export market studieshttp://madb.europa.eu/

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Providing information and practical support

For EU importers : Export Helpdesk

- Import formalities, applied tariffs, trade statistics

- Legislation etc.

Free on-line servicehttp://exporthelp.europa.eu/

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Providing information & practical support

Helpdesks for information and advice

- China IPR SME Helpdesk - for intellectual propertyrights (IPR) protection in China

- Trade Defence Helpdesk – for trade defence investigations as importers, users, complainants or exporters

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EU Business Centres in India, China and Thailand

- European Business and Technologic Centre IndiaLaunched 2008.Offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kalkota and Bangalore.Energy, Environment, Biotech and Transport and SME services.

- EU SME Centres in Beijing and BangkokLaunched end 2010. General SME services.

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Other services

- Dialogues at WTO level such as:Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)Sanitary Phyto-Sanitary mesures (SPS)

- Regulatory / public procurement / IPR dialogues- Bilateral dialogues

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Enterprise Europe Networkhttp://www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu

- Integrated business cooperation and innovation support

- Focus on European SMEs, unique worldwidecoverage

The Enterprise Europe Network

• Policy framework: Europe 2020 and SBA (Review)• 600 local business and innovation support

organisations, serving over 2.5 million SMEs• Mission:

InternationalisationInnovation SMEs in researchFeedback and consultation

Helping SMEs go abroad

• Unique worldwide coverage of the Network:

Every region of the EU2721 countries outside the EU:

• EEA• Neighbouring countries• Key third country markets (China, Russia, US,…)

The Network in the world

• Current coverage: 48 countriesEU27, EEA (Norway, Iceland), Candidate Countries (Turkey, Croatia, FYROM), Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Switzerland, US, Russia, China, South Korea, Israel, Chile, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Japan

• To come: NE & W China, Morocco, Moldova, Ukraine, Canada, Australia, Brazil

• Priority regions: remaining BRICS and ENP

What support is available?

• Market intelligence• Information on standards, laws, etc• Brokerage and company missions• Some 12000 Cooperation profiles

Technological profiles for Tech TransferBusiness cooperation profiles for commercial partnershipsAutomatic matching tools & alerts sent to client SMEs

Examples

• Hungarian textile manufacturer producing for Italian designer brand uses Russian technology to keep clothes fresh for longer, following a Network-brokered tech transfer deal

Competitive edge, new markets, jobs• Greek entrepreneur uses Network company

mission for a mutual sales agreement with US company in emergency lighting, gas detection & fire alarm systems

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Providing information & practical support:

Market Access Databasehttp://madb.europa.eu/

Your Europe – Businesshttp://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/business

European Small Business Portalhttp://ec.europa.eu/small-business/index_en.htm

Enterprise Europe Networkhttp://www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu

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Trade and SMEs

In preparation:

Communication on possible EU support for SME internationalisation

Next steps

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Trade and SMEs

EU Member States are the principle actors for SMEs

Support measures (rules, services, training, financial support etc.)Trade promotion competenceInformation and awareness raising

Role of Member States

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Trade and SMEs

Martin Pilser – Trade [email protected]

Gunnar Matthiesen – Enterprise and Industry DG [email protected]

Thank you for your attention !

eu trade policy practical tools for...

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