Thinking in a box: A ‘mode 5’ approach to service trade

This paper draws the attention to the growing importance of services inputs in manufacturing sectors’ exports in the EU and beyond. The GATS existing four modes of supply do not adequately cover this type of indirect services value-added trade. Hence, theoretically, the case for a new indirect mode of services supply - ‘mode 5’ - is made. On the basis of the TiVA database, our estimates of mode 5 services exports point to a substantial share of total merchandise trade. The paper also finds that from a ‘mode 5’ perspective, services embodied into products are also subject to fairly complex trade rules. One such example illustrated in this paper is the area of customs valuation. Other issues (trade facilitation, rules of origin) could have an impact on the way ‘mode 5’ services are traded. The renewed impetus at the WTO on trade facilitation and the post-Bali agenda should provide a new opportunity for policy makers to forge trade rules that are well-suited for the ways in which goods and services interact along global supply chains.