On Monday the prestigious Brookings Institute, a nonprofit public policy organization, held an event entitled “How Do Government Restrictions Harm International Online Trade and Commerce?”.  The event brought together leaders from the public and private sectors to talk about international trade and the Internet.  Small businesses selling on eBay were featured as an exciting example of the benefits that the Internet can bring to the world. 

Jake Colvin, Vice President at the National Foreign Trade Council, mentioned a recent eBay commissioned study, which found that 97% of the commercial sellers on the eBay platform engage in cross border trade and that 80% export to 5 or more countries.  Mr. Colvin argued that these small businesses should change the way we think about cross border trade.    Mr. Colvin has written about the phenomenon of small businesses trading over the Internet before.

Joshua Meltzer of the Brookings Institute also mentioned eBay during the course of his remarks.  Mr. Meltzer argued that trade rules should safeguard the ability of small businesses to participate effectively in the online marketplace.  Mr. Meltzer also spoke about exciting technology trends in the developing world and how these trends enable people to link in to the network in a way that was never before possible.

It is wonderful to see thought leaders talking about the importance of small businesses, particularly small businesses on eBay, who sell internationally over the Internet.