{ "id": "R43291", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43291", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 614557, "date": "2020-01-22", "retrieved": "2020-01-23T14:03:19.594773", "title": "U.S. Trade in Services: Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "Trade in \u201cservices\u201d refers to a wide and growing range of economic activities. These activities include transport, tourism, financial services, use of intellectual property, telecommunications and information services, government services, maintenance, and other professional services from accounting to legal services. Compared to goods, the types and volume of services that can be traded are limited by factors such as the requirement for direct buyer-provider contact, and other unique characteristics such as the reusability of services (e.g., professional consulting) for which traditional value measures do not account. In addition to services as independent exports, manufactured and agricultural products incorporate and depend on services, such as research and development or shipping of intermediate or final goods. As services account for 71% of U.S. employment, U.S. trade in services, both services as exports and as inputs to other exported products, can have a broad impact across the U.S. economy.\nRapid advances in information technology and the related growth of global value chains have expanded both the level and the range of services tradable across national borders. As a result, services have become a priority in U.S. trade policy, and a significant part of U.S. trade flows and of global trade in general, accounting for $827 billion in U.S. exports in 2018. As the United States is the world\u2019s largest exporter and importer of services (14% and 10% of the global total in 2018), the Administration\u2019s discussions on potential and existing trade agreements that include services are significant. \nA number of economists argue that \u201cbehind the border\u201d barriers imposed by foreign governments prevent U.S. trade in services from expanding to its full potential. The United States continues to negotiate trade agreements to lower these barriers. It was a leading force in concluding the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994, and in past U.S. free trade agreements, all of which contain significant provisions on market access and rules for liberalizing trade in services. Trade negotiations involving trade in services currently under discussion include the following:\nExpansion of services liberalization under WTO; \nRecently approved U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA);\nPhase One agreement with China and future Phase Two discussions; and\nPotential bilateral trade agreement negotiations with the European Union (EU) and/or the United Kingdom (UK).\nIn each case, participants have difficult issues to address and the outlook for progress is uncertain. For most agreements, Congress may consider legislation to implement agreements potentially concluded in the future.\nCongress and U.S. trade negotiators face additional issues, including how to balance the need for effective regulations of services with the objective of opening markets for U.S. exports and trade in services; ensuring adequate and accurate data to measure trade in services to inform trade policy; and determining whether further international cooperation efforts are needed to improve the regulatory environment for services trade beyond initial market access. This report provides background information and analysis on these and other emerging issues related to U.S. international trade in services. In addition, it examines existing and potential trade agreements as they relate to services trade.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43291", "sha1": "7ce2911dccfae0cd5550eace686e5479dc874bcd", "filename": "files/20200122_R43291_7ce2911dccfae0cd5550eace686e5479dc874bcd.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/1.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_99f83b527d9bace3fca0f3ba82593e0530538805.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/8.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_336326e3bad2ed2062b8a8c6d15946d7fa527a95.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/7.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_f016a744e6df8ab3789a4d74f9a1786c8151cb99.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/6.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_093347f2ad35c1cc922083b69c67d301184e3741.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/3.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_f909ce97db314781206200c8a8b3ff298699bac1.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/2.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_7a7aff8d87a7f6693a72d5ea2d9cf1f5ef9d3cd4.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/0.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_041415765b5c0f5519b32b2d9c58c6da094d160d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/9.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_ec7ea13dccc830a25340c2d2720d2b981bac60a5.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/5.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_90f35567375d9cbbfcaa043d8fca0545d7cef4be.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/4.png": "files/20200122_R43291_images_2dd0a98155c47cc8e160404da82a35b6cfca05c2.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43291", "sha1": "0c52c3a50e78df5b6ef67b8a5ae4cc92c299f82e", "filename": "files/20200122_R43291_0c52c3a50e78df5b6ef67b8a5ae4cc92c299f82e.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4807, "name": "Service Sectors" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4866, "name": "U.S. Trade Policy Overview" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 577941, "date": "2018-01-26", "retrieved": "2018-01-30T14:02:52.608828", "title": "U.S. Trade in Services: Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "Trade in \u201cservices\u201d refers to a wide and growing range of economic activities. These activities include transport, tourism, financial services, use of intellectual property, telecommunications and information services, government services, maintenance, and other professional services from accounting to legal services. Compared to goods, the types and volume of services that can be traded are limited by factors such as the requirement for direct buyer-provider contact, and other unique characteristics such as the reusability of services (e.g., professional consulting) for which traditional value measures do not account. In addition to services as independent exports, manufactured and agricultural products incorporate and depend on services, such as research and development or shipping of intermediate or final goods. As services account for 82% of U.S. private sector jobs, U.S. trade in services, both services as exports and as inputs to other exported products, can have a broad impact across the U.S. economy.\nRapid advances in information technology and the related growth of global value chains have expanded both the level and the range of services tradable across national borders. As a result, services have become a priority in U.S. trade policy, and a significant part of U.S. trade flows and of global trade in general, accounting for $752.4 billion in U.S. exports. As the United States is the world\u2019s largest exporter and importer of services (15% and 10% of the global total in 2016), the Administration\u2019s discussions on potential and existing trade agreements that include services are significant. \nA number of economists argue that \u201cbehind the border\u201d barriers imposed by foreign governments prevent U.S. trade in services from expanding to its full potential. The United States continues to negotiate trade agreements to lower these barriers. It was a leading force in concluding the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994, and in past U.S. free trade agreements, all of which contain significant provisions on market access and rules for liberalizing trade in services. Trade agreements involving trade in services currently under discussion include the following.\nRenegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico. \nReview of the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS).\nPotential continued negotiation of the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), a plurilateral agreement outside of the WTO with 22 other countries, or of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) free trade agreement with the European Union (EU).\nPotential new and updated bilateral free trade agreements with other partners.\nIn each case, participants have difficult issues to address and the outlook for progress is uncertain. For each agreement, Congress may consider legislation to implement agreements potentially concluded in the future.\nCongress and U.S. trade negotiators face additional issues, including how to balance the need for effective regulations of services with the objective of opening markets for U.S. exports and trade in services; ensuring adequate and accurate data to measure trade in services to inform trade policy; and determining whether further international cooperation efforts are needed to improve the regulatory environment for services trade beyond initial market access. This report provides background information and analysis on these and other emerging issues related to U.S. international trade in services. In addition, it examines existing and potential trade agreements as they relate to services trade.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43291", "sha1": "16beb6e0802eac3038de7183c28abadde236268c", "filename": "files/20180126_R43291_16beb6e0802eac3038de7183c28abadde236268c.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180126_R43291_images_6f23437da66be0a2b13b28f8402389f431ec4cd1.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180126_R43291_images_3265a6e5c1b66da856ac4234677090fdeb9b2ae0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180126_R43291_images_13dfb19373320c7fb7ade0c2520424fa9eb223cd.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180126_R43291_images_041415765b5c0f5519b32b2d9c58c6da094d160d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/5.png": "files/20180126_R43291_images_80689a931a848bb3ac2475398518e8ff94950ba0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180126_R43291_images_d516f70f7d5771fd1afe94b60b10b5fe97e35f50.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43291", "sha1": "f386c30e681a1fc5931889a00867a9b6dbd1de5a", "filename": "files/20180126_R43291_f386c30e681a1fc5931889a00867a9b6dbd1de5a.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4866, "name": "U.S. Trade Policy Overview" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 462383, "date": "2017-06-30", "retrieved": "2017-08-22T14:03:32.900404", "title": "U.S. Trade in Services: Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "\u201cServices\u201d refers to a growing range of economic activities, such as audiovisual; construction; computer and related services; energy; express delivery; e-commerce; financial; professional (such as accounting and legal services); retail and wholesaling; transportation; tourism; and telecommunications. Services have become an important priority in U.S. trade flows and trade policy and of global trade in general, accounting for $752.4 billion of U.S. exports and 82% of U.S. private sector jobs. The types and volume of services that can be traded, however, are limited by their intangibility (as compared to goods), the requirement for direct buyer-provider contact, and other unique characteristics. The Administration is engaged in discussions on potential and existing trade agreements that include services as a significant component. For each agreement, Congress may consider legislation to implement the agreements in the future.\nThe United States is the world\u2019s largest exporter of services (14% of the global total in 2015) and the largest importer (10% of the global total in 2015). Rapid advances in information technology and the related growth of global value and supply chains have reduced barriers to trade in services, making an expanding range of services tradable across national borders. A number of economists have argued that \u201cbehind the border\u201d barriers imposed by foreign governments prevent U.S. trade in services from expanding to their full potential.\nThe United States continues to negotiate trade agreements to lower these barriers. It has been a leading force in doing so under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in free trade agreements, all of which contain significant provisions on market access and rules for liberalizing trade in services. The United States is currently at different stages with multiple trade agreements that include trade in services:\nRenegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico; \nPotential continued negotiation of the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), a plurilateral agreement outside of the WTO with 22 other countries; \nPotential continued negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), which would cover the world\u2019s two largest providers of and traders in services; and\nPotential new and updated bilateral free trade agreements with other partners.\nIn each case, participants have difficult issues to address and the outlook for progress is uncertain. One issue is whether bilateral, regional, and plurilateral agreements would support or undermine the pursuit of a more extensive, multilateral agreement in the GATS. \nCongress and U.S. trade negotiators face other issues, including how to balance the need for effective regulations with the objective of opening markets for U.S. exports and trade in services; ensuring adequate and accurate data to measure trade in services to better inform trade policy; and determining whether further international cooperation efforts are needed to improve the regulatory environment for services trade beyond initial market access. This report provides background information and analysis on these and other emerging issues and U.S. international trade in services, in general. In addition, it examines existing and potential agreements, NAFTA, TiSA, and T-TIP, as they relate to services trade.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43291", "sha1": "ed145450bc1b949a1bdd3958c4a3a2fef83d8d26", "filename": "files/20170630_R43291_ed145450bc1b949a1bdd3958c4a3a2fef83d8d26.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/3.png": "files/20170630_R43291_images_f4baf55c50c0755285740541bd92c45d3b574649.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/2.png": "files/20170630_R43291_images_fadb78d18fcf650346d822fbf31eba1616606212.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170630_R43291_images_998cbe3d739c941cd38e3125889c46c2a6bcf232.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43291_files&id=/1.png": "files/20170630_R43291_images_36f2585826a45f42ff0b221e63cb4c39faa3ec8e.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43291", "sha1": "8cde4ede78587ed155eaed967c60319118639b84", "filename": "files/20170630_R43291_8cde4ede78587ed155eaed967c60319118639b84.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4866, "name": "U.S. Trade Policy Overview" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 457448, "date": "2016-12-06", "retrieved": "2016-12-09T19:06:49.689652", "title": "U.S. Trade in Services: Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "\u201cServices\u201d refers to a growing range of economic activities, such as audiovisual; construction; computer and related services; energy; express delivery; e-commerce; financial; professional (such as accounting and legal services); retail and wholesaling; transportation; tourism; and telecommunications. Services have become an important priority in U.S. trade flows and trade policy and of global trade in general, accounting for $730.6 billion of U.S. exports and 82% of U.S. private sector jobs. The types and volume of services that can be traded, however, are limited by their intangibility (as compared to goods), the requirement for direct buyer-provider contact, and other unique characteristics. The Administration is engaged in discussions on three trade agreements that include services as a significant component. For each agreement, Congress may consider legislation to implement the agreements in the future.\nThe United States is the world\u2019s largest exporter of services (14% of the global total in 2014) and the largest importer (9% of the global total in 2014). Rapid advances in information technology and the related growth of global value and supply chains have reduced barriers to trade in services, making an expanding range of services tradable across national borders. A number of economists have argued that \u201cbehind the border\u201d barriers imposed by foreign governments prevent U.S. trade in services from expanding to their full potential.\nThe United States continues to negotiate trade agreements to lower these barriers. It has been a leading force in doing so under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in free trade agreements, all of which contain significant provisions on market access and rules for liberalizing trade in services. The United States is currently at different stages with three trade agreements that include trade in services:\nPotential consideration of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement with 11 other countries; \nPotential continued negotiation of the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), a plurilateral agreement outside of the WTO with 22 other countries; and\nPotential continued negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), which would cover the world\u2019s two largest providers of and traders in services.\nIn each case, participants have difficult issues to address and the outlook is uncertain. One issue is whether regional and plurilateral agreements would support or undermine the pursuit of a more extensive, multilateral agreement in the GATS. A related issue is whether participants in regional and plurilateral agreements can or should encourage other countries, such as those with emerging and potentially large services markets\u2014Brazil, China, and India\u2014to join.\nCongress and U.S. trade negotiators face other issues, including how to balance the need for effective regulations with the objective of opening markets for trade in services; ensuring adequate and accurate data to measure trade in services to better inform trade policy; and determining whether further international cooperation efforts are needed to improve the regulatory environment for services trade beyond initial market access. This report provides background information and analysis on these and other emerging issues and U.S. international trade in services, in general. In addition, it examines potential agreements, TiSA, TPP, and T-TIP, as they relate to services trade.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43291", "sha1": "cbb2c78ba3dae1ec67567ff61eb956cec1b1a8d2", "filename": "files/20161206_R43291_cbb2c78ba3dae1ec67567ff61eb956cec1b1a8d2.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43291", "sha1": "b9a35a59d65d0c7f0d40ea980d887abe9d0c5308", "filename": "files/20161206_R43291_b9a35a59d65d0c7f0d40ea980d887abe9d0c5308.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4866, "name": "U.S. Trade Policy Overview" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 449429, "date": "2016-02-04", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:17:05.641415", "title": "U.S. Trade in Services: Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "\u201cServices\u201d refers to a growing range of economic activities, such as audiovisual; construction; computer and related services; energy; express delivery; e-commerce; financial; professional (such as accounting and legal services); retail and wholesaling; transportation; tourism; and telecommunications. Services have become an important priority in U.S. trade flows and trade policy and of global trade in general, accounting for $710.6 billion of U.S. exports and 80% of U.S. jobs. The types and volume of services that can be traded, however, are limited by their intangibility (as compared to goods), the requirement for direct buyer-provider contact, and other unique characteristics. The Administration is currently engaging on three trade agreements that include services as a significant component. For each agreement, Congress may consider legislation to implement the agreements in the future.\nThe United States is the world\u2019s largest exporter of services (14.3% of the global total in 2013) and the largest importer (9.8% of the global total in 2013). Rapid advances in information technology and the related growth of global value and supply chains have reduced barriers to trade in services, making an expanding range of services tradable across national borders. A number of economists have argued that \u201cbehind the border\u201d barriers imposed by foreign governments prevent U.S. trade in services from expanding to their full potential.\nThe United States continues to negotiate trade agreements to lower these barriers. It has been a leading force in doing so under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in the World Trade Organization (WTO), in free trade agreements, all of which contain significant provisions on market access and rules for liberalizing trade in services, and in a new plurilateral Trade in Services Agreement. The United States is currently at different stages of negotiating three trade agreements that include trade in services:\nThe Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), a plurilateral agreement outside of the WTO with 22 other countries; \nThe Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement with 11 other countries; and\nThe Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), which would cover the world\u2019s two largest providers of and traders in services.\nIn each case, participants have difficult issues to address. One issue is whether regional and plurilateral agreements will support or undermine the pursuit of a more extensive, multilateral agreement in the GATS. A related issue is whether participants in regional and plurilateral agreements can or should encourage other countries, such as those with emerging and potentially large services markets\u2014Brazil, China, and India\u2014to join.\nCongress and U.S. trade negotiators face other issues, including how to balance the need for effective regulations with the objective of opening markets for trade in services; ensuring adequate and accurate data to measure trade in services to better inform trade policy; and determining whether further international cooperation efforts are needed to improve the regulatory environment for services trade beyond initial market access. This report provides background information and analysis on these and other emerging issues and U.S. international trade in services, in general. In addition, it examines current negotiations, TiSA, TPP, and T-TIP, as they relate to services trade.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43291", "sha1": "7a7e5f1017fcd398bb5bd8b6be41499e54c65f28", "filename": "files/20160204_R43291_7a7e5f1017fcd398bb5bd8b6be41499e54c65f28.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43291", "sha1": "6b2e603c1508792c6c321fb25ae52c2c60cefff3", "filename": "files/20160204_R43291_6b2e603c1508792c6c321fb25ae52c2c60cefff3.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 365, "name": "U.S. and International Trade Agreements" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc795639/", "id": "R43291_2015Nov03", "date": "2015-11-03", "retrieved": "2016-01-13T14:26:20", "title": "U.S. Trade in Services: Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "This report provides background information and analysis on U.S. international trade in services, as well as policy issues before the United States. The report also examines emerging issues and current negotiations, including the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20151103_R43291_0b9475fd898ed1a8c05ebc7426088becdad0f385.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20151103_R43291_0b9475fd898ed1a8c05ebc7426088becdad0f385.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Tariff agreements", "name": "Tariff agreements" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Economic policy", "name": "Economic policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade regulation", "name": "Trade regulation" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc795833/", "id": "R43291_2015Sep22", "date": "2015-09-22", "retrieved": "2016-01-13T14:26:20", "title": "U.S. Trade in Services: Trends and Policy Issues", "summary": "This report provides background information and analysis on U.S. international trade in services. It analyzes policy issues before the United States, especially relating to negotiating international disciplines on trade in services and dealing complexities in measuring trade in services. The report also examines emerging issues and current negotiations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150922_R43291_163e21bebaae55a8c2b40758f9ce9cd5699e5539.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150922_R43291_163e21bebaae55a8c2b40758f9ce9cd5699e5539.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International trade", "name": "International trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade agreements", "name": "Trade agreements" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817751/", "id": "R43291_2014May15", "date": "2014-05-15", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "U.S. Foreign Trade in Services: Trends and U.S. Policy Challenges", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140515_R43291_1b738527221b6ef917d6398394f50f504b6d1126.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140515_R43291_1b738527221b6ef917d6398394f50f504b6d1126.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Economic Policy", "Foreign Affairs", "Industry and Trade" ] }