Despite being an agreement designed for the fastest developing sectors, the signatories of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) in the World Trade Organization (WTO) have so far failed to re-negotiate the coverage of the ITA (concluded in 1996) due to a longstanding dispute amongst its...

We estimate the potential for trade in services in a 2-step approach using a gravity model for a sample of bilateral service trade flows in individual service categories between 65 countries over the period 2000 to 2005. In particular, we focus on the Austrian economy's potential for untapped...

Why do governments sign services trade agreements? This paper focuses on the role of international agreements in the context of trade in services when services are used as intermediate inputs in downstream industries. Compared to goods, services inputs are mostly non-tradable and complementary...

This paper analyses the role of services in international trade through the lens of global value chains (GVCs). Services account for more than 70% of world GDP but only for around 20% of world trade in balance of payments terms. In value added terms, accounting for services embodied in exported...

Services is the fastest-growing sector of today's global economy and trade in services is the most dynamic segment of world trade. However, its potential remains constrained by a variety of barriers: trade costs are estimated to be almost double those in goods, and more than 40% of trade costs...

This paper aims to provide insights into the market access issues arising in such negotiations. Should TISA negotiations result in participants exchanging the best commitments they have so far undertaken in their preferential trade agreements (PTAs) - a reasonable starting point - 'TISA market...