The Table, No. 7: Making the Hidden Costs Visible

Dear members and partners,

This week, Reseated published records and open letters on costs that can be hard for a small business to see clearly until it is already committed: the final cost of moving goods across a border, and the full cost of bringing on a first employee. We also published the record of our second Open Table, held in two sittings, alongside records from three council sessions.

These documents do different jobs. An open letter makes a practical issue visible to the people who can help address it. A summary record shows that a discussion took place and preserves its formal record. An evidence submission gives the process another account to consider. None, by itself, settles a question. Our work is to gather reports, test whether a problem is repeated and consistent, and then make the case for a specific fix.

Thank you to everyone who contributed time, evidence and care this week. We will keep publishing the work so members can see what has been raised and where it stands.

— The Founding Secretariat

The week at the table

The week’s central Assembly-wide record is RC/A/2026/SR.2, the summary record of Open Table 2, published on 26 March. Open Table 2 had two sittings. The record gives members a formal reference point for the gathering and makes the process visible beyond those who were able to attend. It is a record, not a claim that every small-business experience is the same or that a problem has already passed the pattern test.

That distinction matters. A useful consultation begins with people being able to describe what happened in their own terms. The next step is to look across reports: how many people encountered the issue, how often it recurs, whether accounts are consistent, how widely it appears, and whether there is corroborating evidence. The purpose is not to turn one difficult experience into a universal rule. It is to learn whether separate experiences point to a shared practice that can be addressed.

Two open letters published this week bring that approach to practical questions. RC/TR/2026/20, dated 25 March, addresses freight forwarders and customs brokers on landed-cost transparency. The subject is the information a business needs to understand the cost of getting goods to their destination, rather than discovering important charges only as the process unfolds. RC/TM/2026/20, dated 23 March, asks what it really costs to hire a first employee. Its focus is the commitments and expenses a small employer needs to consider when taking that step.

These are letters about practices, not accusations against named companies. Their value is in stating the issue plainly and inviting a better standard of clarity. A small business deciding whether it can afford a shipment or a new hire needs information early enough to make a real decision.

The councils also published three session records: the Resilience Council’s second-session summary, RC/RS/2026/SR.2, dated 21 March; the Red Tape Council’s, RC/RT/2026/SR.2, dated 23 March; and the Team Council’s, RC/TM/2026/SR.2, dated 25 March. The Red Tape Council also published evidence submission RC/RT/2026/S.1, titled “When a Small Shipment Becomes a Paperwork Project.” Taken together, these publications show several parts of the assembly’s work in motion: members’ evidence, council discussion and an open record of proceedings.

By the numbers

As of 27 March, Reseated has 302 members seated in 47 countries. Members and others have filed 675 reports from 49 countries. The difference between the two country counts reflects the Secretariat’s records; the figures describe members seated and reports filed, respectively.

The report breakdown is: Platform, 443; Cashflow, 160; Fair Play, 30; Red Tape, 23; Trade, 11; and Team, 8. These are the exact council figures in the Secretariat’s records. A count is a starting point, not a finding about how common an issue is in the wider economy. Reports need to be examined for the five-part pattern before Reseated proposes a fix.

The scale of small business makes that discipline worthwhile. The United Nations estimates that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises account for about 90% of businesses, 60–70% of employment and roughly 50% of GDP worldwide (UN MSME Day). The International Labour Organization estimates that MSMEs provide about 70% of employment worldwide and that around 80% operate in the informal economy (ILO). These global estimates are context, not a substitute for evidence about a particular practice.

From the table

One member’s account, anonymized, captures why landed-cost transparency matters. The member was planning a shipment for a small business and had to make a decision before every cost was clear. A price that initially looked workable did not tell the whole story. The member needed to know what additional charges might arise, who would explain them, and when the final figure would be available. Without that clarity, it was difficult to tell whether the order made sense or to plan cash for the weeks ahead.

The point is not that every shipment follows the same route, or that every charge is avoidable. It is that a business cannot compare options or plan responsibly when important cost information arrives too late to change course. The member’s account is one experience, not a verdict. Reseated needs more reports to understand how often this happens, whether the same gaps recur, and what records or other evidence can confirm the pattern.

Members can share an account without naming their business. Please do not include another person’s private information. Specifics about what was disclosed, when it was disclosed and what decision the business had to make are more useful than general frustration alone.

Coming up

Open Tables are held monthly, so the next opportunity to meet in that format is expected in April. Watch for the Secretariat’s notice for the date, sittings and agenda.

The councils will continue receiving and examining reports. This week’s publications do not announce a new adoption ballot or consultation deadline. Where a problem has not yet passed the five-part pattern test, the next useful contribution is evidence: an account that can help establish volume, frequency, consistency, spread or corroboration. When a draft fix is ready, the process provides for public consultation before an Assembly ballot.

The week’s records are available by their document symbols: RC/A/2026/SR.2; RC/TR/2026/20; RC/TM/2026/20; RC/RS/2026/SR.2; RC/RT/2026/SR.2; RC/TM/2026/SR.2; and RC/RT/2026/S.1. Use those symbols when referring to a document so members can locate the same version.

One thing you can do

Send one report about a business practice that made it harder to plan, pay, hire, trade or comply. Keep it concrete: what happened, how often it has happened, whether you have seen the same practice elsewhere, who else it affected, and what evidence you can share. If you are still dealing with the issue, say so. If it happened only once, say that too.

A clear account does not have to be long, and it does not need to name your business. Please describe the practice rather than speculate about intent, and do not name a company in an accusation. Repeated, specific accounts give the assembly a stronger basis for deciding whether a shared problem exists—and, if it does, what a practical fix should ask for.