Commercial services in international trade

Commercial services in international trade

Commercial services in international trade

Another factor to consider in this type of trade is that it is harder

to measure services and their value than it is to measure goods.

Restaurants and their staff, for example, may not include tips

in their bookkeeping or tax returns. And the spread of Internetbased

services is making the problem of measurement even more

difficult, especially when companies hide their transactions to

avoid paying taxes.

Transportation, travel and “other commercial services” (including

communication services, construction services, insurance,

financial services, IT services and leisure-related activities) are

the largest categories. “Other” has been both the largest and the

fastest growing category throughout this decade. Incidentally,

such a broad classification shows the difficulties that can arise in

analysing trade flows and developments.