This first Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services
has been prepared by the Interagency
Task Force on Statistics of International Trade in Services
authorised by the Statistical Commission of the United Nations
to meet the needs of a variety of producers and users of trade
data but in particular the needs of the General
Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS). GATS categorises trade
in services according to four modes of supply - cross border,
consumption abroad, commercial presence and presence of natural
persons.
Accordingly the Manual extends the statistical definition of international
trade in services into new areas to reflect the four modes of
trade in services as defined by GATS, namely cross border, consumption
abroad, commercial presence and presence of natural persons. It
does this by building on and maintaining consistency with existing
frameworks including the IMF 5th Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5)
and the 1993 SNA.
Apart from consideration of modes of supply, the Manual
provides a more detailed classification of services delivered
through conventional trade between residents and non-residents
than is contained in BPM5, includes a treatment of local delivery
of services through a foreign commercial presence and takes a
first step towards linking these two systems. Links to existing
statistical frameworks are described and correspondences provided
from the classifications used in the manual (e.g. Extended Balance
of Payments Services classification, EBOPS, and the ISIC Categories
for Foreign Affiliates, ICFA) to the Central Product Classification
(CPC), version 1.0, the International Standard Industrial Classification
of Economic Activities (ISIC), Revision 3 and the GATS services
negotiating list.
The Manual can be ordered as a printed publication (United Nations
publication, ESA/STAT/Ser.M/86, Sales No. E.02.XVII.11) from:
United Nations,
Sales Section,
DC2-0853,
New York 10017,
USA (facsimile 212-963-3489),
e-mail: publications@un.org
or
Sales Section, Palais des Nations,
1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland (facsimile 41-22-917-0027),
e-mail: unpubli@unog.ch
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