ABOUT SERVICES TRADE

This site provides information on general services exporting, as well as strategies for governments and associations to help showcase and promote service expertise, and support their service exporters. It also provides exporters of services with advice and tips on how to export their services, as well as source of information

For information on services trade and its role in economic development:

Basics of service exporting:

Do you know how services are exported?

One of the major achievements of the Uruguay Round negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was the agreement on four modes of delivery or ways in which services may be exported:

Mode 1: Cross-border trade, where the trade takes place from one country into the other. Only the service itself crosses the border.

Mode 2: Consumption abroad, where the customer travels to the country where the service is supplied.

Mode 3: Commercial presence, where the supplier establishes a commercial presence abroad.
Mode 4: Movement of natural persons, where the provider of the service crosses the border.

Any of the four modes above are considered “Trade in Services”, as long as a local firm is being paid by a foreign firm ("non-resident"), no matter where the service is actually provided.

Who is a "service exporter"?

You are a service exporter if you are paid for your services by a "non-resident" customer regardless of where the service is provided.

Classification of commercial services according to WTO

Services Sectoral Classification List available in soft copy in: ENGLISH, FRANCAIS, ESPAÑOL