Europe’s small businesses are the beating heart of its economy. They account for more than 99% of enterprises, fuel innovation, and create jobs across every region. Yet in the world of global trade, they are too often left behind. The EU’s free trade agreements are valued at more than €2 trillion, but the real benefits overwhelmingly flow to large corporations and powerful trade unions — from multinational automotive firms to the French wine lobby, steel and chemicals industries, and fashion houses. These players have the resources and influence to bend negotiations in their favour, while SMEs struggle to be heard.

Consider a family-owned furniture maker in Poland. Their products could find eager buyers in South America or Africa, but tariffs and regulatory hurdles make exporting unviable. Or a tech start-up in Portugal: by the time a new EU agreement is ratified — often after half a decade of negotiations — the opportunity has passed, and competitors have already moved in. These examples illustrate the wider reality: SMEs across all 27 EU member states face the same barriers, regardless of their creativity, ambition, or potential.

This is why TBP’s proposal matters. The €50 billion EU Small Business Free Trade Agreement may seem small compared to €2 trillion — just 2.5% of the whole — but it is revolutionary because every euro is directed exclusively to SMEs. It ensures that entrepreneurs in every EU country — from Italy’s artisans to Germany’s tech innovators, from Greece’s agri-businesses to Ireland’s service firms — can finally access the benefits of global trade.

Through the TBP Trade Agreement On D Go®, small businesses can bypass years of bureaucracy and gain immediate access to global markets. Real-time, monetary-value-based agreements within the TBP Neutral Global Trade Corridor give SMEs zero-tariff access, simplified compliance, and predictable trade caps designed to empower entrepreneurs, not multinationals or trade lobbies.

And this is not just a win for Europe. By opening the EU to entrepreneurs from China, South America, Africa, and beyond, the framework creates two-way access: Europe’s SMEs can expand outward, and global SMEs can connect inward. This reciprocity fosters growth, cultural exchange, and innovation sharing, ensuring Europe stays competitive in a rapidly changing global economy.

The task ahead is ambitious, but the rewards are profound. With courage and vision, Europe can move from being a slow-moving negotiator, too often captured by its largest players, to becoming a dynamic hub of inclusive global trade — a leader in breaking barriers for small businesses in all 27 member states.