SERVICES are a major part of the global economy, generating more than two-thirds of global gross domestic product (GDP), attracting over three-quarters of foreign direct investment in advanced economies, employing the most workers, and creating most new jobs globally. Obstacles to global services trade, however, remain prevalent and could slow down economic recovery worldwide.
The OECD will release the latest update to the Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) on February 1, 2022.
The STRI provides annual information on regulations that affect services trade in 50 countries, which represent more than 80% of the global trade in services, as well as on 22 key services sectors. The Index offers a comprehensive and transparent overview of global trends in services trade regulations, facilitating deeper analysis of the effects of such regulations on trade in services and the wider economy. It also helps trade negotiators identify restrictions that impede trade, benchmark domestic policies relative to global best practice and is a source of regulatory transparency for businesses seeking to enter foreign markets.
The STRI database compiles up-to-date information on requirements to enter foreign markets in unprecedented detail, providing transparent and readily accessible insights into the measures that hamper services trade. The STRI is an important reference for policy makers, international services providers and a source of data for academic research on drivers and impediments to services trade. |
