World Trade Organization: Four major trends in global trade in services

12-17-2024

The four major trends observed by the World Trade Organization in global service trade mainly include: the growth of service trade driven by digital transformation, the rise of artificial intelligence, digital service trade gradually becoming the main force of service trade, and the continuous reshaping of global service trade rules.

The growth of service trade is driven by digital transformation: from 2005 to 2023, the global export value of digital delivery services has achieved significant growth, reflecting the huge business opportunities and employment prospects in this field. Especially Asian economies have been particularly successful in utilizing these digital opportunities, with their digital delivery service exports growing at a faster rate than other regions.

The rise of artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence may have a significant impact on service trade, driving its development by increasing productivity and demand. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence may also reshape the global economic landscape and comparative advantage, disrupting existing trade flows.

Digital service trade has gradually become the main force of service trade: with the development of new generation digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data, etc., the tradability of services has been greatly improved, costs have rapidly decreased, and application scenarios have been widely expanded. The proportion of global digital service trade in service trade has exceeded 60% and is expected to continue to maintain high-speed growth.

The continuous reshaping of global service trade rules: digital trade governance, especially digital service trade governance, has received increasing attention. The current regional trade agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), have expanded the scope of issues related to digital services trade rules, and enhanced the depth and ambition of relevant rules.

These trends collectively shape the current landscape of global trade in services and foreshadow potential directions for future development.