Question 2: What does trade in services mean?

According to the General Agreement on Trade in Services reached in the Uruguay Round of GATT, trade in services refers to: "providing services from the territory of one member to the territory of any other member; Providing services to service consumers of any other member within the territory of a member; A service provider of a member provides services through a commercial presence in the territory of any other member; A service provider of a member provides services in the territory of any other member as a natural person ".

There is no uniform, accepted and exact definition of international trade in services in national statistics and various economic and trade documents. The following are several representative definitions:

(A) Based on the definition of balance of payments statistics

Statisticians define service export as selling services to residents of other countries from the perspective of national income and balance of payments. Service import means that domestic residents buy services from other countries. "Residents" refer to natural persons, legal persons and other organizations that are regarded as legal persons for tax purposes, and pay taxes in accordance with the laws of the host country with their domicile, domicile, head office or management institution as the place of tax obligation. Countries have different definitions of "residents" according to their own laws. From a statistical point of view, "residents" are usually defined as people who have lived in a certain country for more than three months. Some countries think that people who have lived for at least three years will become residents. "Trade" refers to selling valuable things to people living in another country, and "service" refers to any economic activity that does not directly produce finished products.

Generally speaking, the international trade statistics conducted by the government to calculate national income and balance of payments are aimed at answering the first series of questions about national economic operation and macroeconomic policy management. For example, the government is eager to know and master the export of domestic goods and services and the size of domestic employment opportunities created by the export of goods and services. The government also wants to know to what extent the goods and services consumed at home are produced and provided by foreign countries. The government also wants to know that its foreign exchange supply is met by the export of services and commodities, and its foreign exchange reduction is caused by the import of commodities and services. The purpose of trade statistics is to reveal the competitive position of a country in a certain field and provide corresponding information and data for comparison with foreign competitors. Obviously, based on the above understanding, the definition of service trade is divided by national boundaries. All service activities in one country are called domestic service trade, while services sold to people living or working on the border of another country are regarded as international service trade.

Definition of UNCTAD

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development uses the transit phenomenon to elaborate the service trade. International trade in services is defined as: the processing, assembly and maintenance of goods, as well as the activities of providing services and earning income to non-residents by factors of production such as money, personnel and information, which is the exchange of services between one country and other countries. In a narrow sense, international service trade refers to tangible things that occur between different countries and conform to the strict definition of service. Direct service output and input. Broadly speaking, international service trade includes both tangible service input and output, and intangible international service exchange without physical contact between service providers and users.

Generally speaking, the service trade we refer to is the concept of international service trade in a broad sense, and it is the concept of international service trade in a narrow sense only under certain circumstances. Both "service trade" and "international service trade" in this book refer to the broad concept of "international service trade".

(3) Definition of WTO

In the Uruguay Round negotiations under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the General Agreement on Trade in Services signed in April 1994 defined trade in services as:

(1) Providing services from the territory of one member to the territory of another member;

(2) Providing services from the territory of one member to service consumers of another member;

(3) Providing services through the legal person of one member (service provider entity) in the commercial presence of another member.

(4) Services provided by natural persons of one member within the territory of another member;

This definition has become the authoritative definition of "international service trade" and is generally accepted by all countries.

The service sector includes the following contents: business services, communication services, construction and related engineering services, sales services, education services, environmental services, financial services, health and social services, tourism-related services, entertainment, cultural and sports services, and transportation services.

The difference between service trade and goods trade

Trade in goods refers to the exchange of goods between countries or regions and is a traditional form of trade. Service trade refers to the service exchange between countries or regions, which is a new form of trade.

② Trade in goods is tangible, while trade in services is intangible.

3. Commodity trade goods move, producers and consumers do not move; The flow of service providers and consumers in service trade is complicated.

(4) Customs can supervise trade in goods, but generally cannot supervise trade in services.