Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Key developments and updates in the Informal

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and CUTS International, Geneva, provides an update on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Informal Working Group (IWG) on Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) from June to December 2020. It details the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on MSMEs, particularly those led by women, and outlines a package of six recommendations and declarations adopted by the IWG in December 2020 to improve MSME integration into the multilateral trading system.

• The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected MSMEs due to their labour-intensive nature, thin liquidity reserves, and limited financial alternatives, such as a lack of assets for collateral. A 2020 study by the Asia Pacific MSME Trade Coalition found that 50% of surveyed MSMEs in that region had less than one month of cash reserves.
• Women-led MSMEs faced higher closure rates during the pandemic than male-led businesses. Research indicated that globally, female-owned businesses were 5.9 percentage points more likely to close. In Uganda, 61% of women-led small businesses failed to generate income, compared to 22% of those led by men.
• In December 2020, the IWG on MSMEs adopted a package of six voluntary and non-binding recommendations and declarations. These cover transparency and information exchange, trade facilitation, access to finance and cross-border payments, market information access, and the inclusion of MSMEs in regulatory development.
• To improve access to information, the IWG supports the operationalization of the Global Trade Helpdesk (GTH), a multi-agency initiative by the ITC, UNCTAD, and the WTO. The GTH integrates nine tools, including TradeMap and the Market Access Map, to help MSMEs compare product demand, explore tariffs, and navigate export processes.
• The IWG is promoting the use of the WTO Integrated Database (IDB) as the official source for tariff and trade-related information. The group supports the 2019 decision requiring members to provide annual data on applied most-favoured-nation import tariffs, import statistics, and other duties to reduce uncertainty for MSMEs.
• The IWG has identified several future work priorities for 2021, including the development of the "Trade4MSMEs" web platform to aggregate training and research for MSMEs and policy-makers. Other proposed areas include exploring a global 'de minimis' threshold for customs duties in e-commerce and improving cybersecurity readiness for MSMEs.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Key developments and updates in the Informal. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-04/msmes-working-group-discussions-wto-members-en.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Key developments and updates in the Informal. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-04/msmes-working-group-discussions-wto-members-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Key developments and updates in the Informal |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-04/msmes-working-group-discussions-wto-members-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndmicro, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Key developments and updates in the Informal}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-04/msmes-working-group-discussions-wto-members-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }