Canada: eBay advocates removal of trade barriers to stimulate exporters - report

Moreover, it stresses that the import duty exemption threshold, a measurement that determines the maximum value of goods that can be shipped without duties often referred to as the personal exemption limit or PEL, can be raised from CAD 20 to CAD 200.

The recommendation comes after an internal research study showing technology-enabled businesses, such as those led by eBay sellers, are more export-oriented than their brick-and-mortar counterparts and that the current PEL impedes their business-growth potential.

The report shows that 99.5% of tech-enabled businesses export, compared to only 10.4% of traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. Additionally, while most traditional exporters trade exclusively with the US (57 percent), the companies studied by eBay trade with an average of 19 countries, including a wide range of emerging markets: 125% growth in sales to South America, 66% growth in sales to Asia and 146% growth in sales to Africa since the 2008 financial crisis.

Between 2008 and 2013, the technology-enabled business increased their cross-border sales by 14% while overall export activity for the same period declined by 2%.

The study was conducted on data analysis of activity between 2008 and 2013 among eBay small businesses with minimum annual sales of CAD 10,000.

There is a 13% of newly established technology-enabled businesses and 4% of total Canadian exporters, an indication of the low barriers to entry for ecommerce.

83% of newly established technology-enabled businesses export to 2 or more markets within their first year. Additionally, 26% of SMEs which engage in international trade significantly outperform their market, compared with 13% of those whose activity is strictly domestic, emphasizing again the positive impact of global trade on small businesses.