Trade in services plays a vital role in the economy of countries, not only as a substantial contributor to economic outputs and employment but also as a catalyst for a more sustainable, inclusive, and digital global economy. In 2023, OECD Member countries exported over USD 5 576 billion worth in services. Lead services exporters are the United States (USD 1 026 billion), the United Kingdom (USD 581 billion), and Germany (USD 442 billion) (Figure 1). These figures underscore the economic potential of services trade but also highlight the disparities that contribute to trade imbalances, particularly for exporters facing higher barriers. Global trade in services continued to increase in 2024, reaching a 10% year-on-year increase in the third quarter of 2024 (WTO, 2025[1]).
OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index
Source: World Bank Group (2024[2]).
Against this backdrop, the 2024 OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) shows that global services trade barriers persisted in 2024, although liberalising and tightening policy changes were more concentrated in some countries and sectors (Figure 2).
The largest degree of liberalisation was in postal and courier services. These changes were driven by the removal of the statutory monopoly for the distribution of letters in India and the elimination of universal postal service obligations in Denmark. Similarly, important reforms were identified in some professional and financial services. Portugal enacted broad reforms of its professional services legislation, resulting in the removal of nationality conditions to obtain a license to practice as an accountant or construction engineer, and the permission for commercial association between lawyers and other professionals. Belgium lifted a residency condition for appointed actuaries in the insurance sector and Norway removed a similar requirement regarding accountants. In maritime transport, Brazil lifted price regulation of pilotage services and Peru eased conditions for foreign-flagged ships to provide cabotage services.
Most increases in the STRI were identified in commercial banking, motion pictures and broadcasting services. Increases in commercial banking were mainly due to economy-wide policies. Foreign entry and competition in audiovisual services were affected by new quotas for showing domestic films in movie theatres in Brazil and on television in Switzerland, as well as new rules favouring public TV channels over private broadcasters in Kazakhstan.
Annex A provides a chronological overview of services trade policy changes adopted in each country in the STRI sample between 2014 and 2024.
Note: Sum of all the restrictions (increase in values) and liberalisation (decrease in values) across all the measures over the period considered.
Source: OECD STRI database (http://oe.cd/stri-db).
Many new measures in 2023-24 affected services traded via commercial presence (mode 3). Several countries (e.g. the Netherlands, Singapore and Sweden) adopted new foreign investment screening mechanisms with an economy-wide scope. Moreover, other countries amended existing foreign investment instruments (China), reinforced existing foreign investment screening mechanisms (Denmark, France, Korea, Norway), and streamlined or clarified screening procedures (France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom).
Services supplied via the temporary presence of natural persons (mode 4) were also affected by regulatory changes. For instance, some countries adjusted the rules related to labour market tests (e.g. Canada and Belgium) while several countries increased the costs for business visas (e.g. Australia, Schengen countries, the United Kingdom and the United States). While the level of restrictiveness across countries remains generally high, a substantial share of changes identified aimed at easing conditions on the temporary movement of people. For instance, Greece increased the maximum duration of the initial entry permit from 24 to 36 months for non-EU services providers. Australia and Czechia streamlined the labour market testing process to facilitate the hiring of foreign nationals. In Denmark, non-EU nationals employed by foreign-affiliated companies and working in Denmark for short periods of time were exempted from the requirement to obtain a work permit, under certain conditions.
The OECD Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (Digital STRI) shows an increasingly restrictive global regulatory environment affecting trade in digitally enabled services in more than 100 countries (Figure 3). On a global level, such barriers increased by 25% between 2014 and 2023, driven by an increasing number of measures affecting communication infrastructure and connectivity (OECD, 2024[3]).
The regulatory environment affecting digital trade continues to evolve at a rapid pace affecting key policy areas such as cross-border data flows, telecommunications services and levies on digital services.
Examples of some key regulatory developments include Malaysia and Türkiye’s amendments to their data protection laws to facilitate cross-border data transfers. In March 2024, the Cyberspace Administration of China adopted the Regulations on Promoting and Regulating Cross-border Data Flow which provided some clarification on what types of data must undergo a security assessment. China also implemented a new pilot program that aims to lower foreign ownership restrictions in value-added telecommunications services in selected zones and areas. In December 2024, Viet Nam adopted a new law allowing foreign telecommunications operators access to public infrastructure and promoting international collaboration. Lastly, Colombia introduced a 3% digital tax on foreign service providers with substantial economic presence in the country, while India removed a 2% equalisation levy on non-resident digital service providers.
The Digital STRI values for 2024 are reported in Annex C.
Note: The size of the bubbles are proportional to countries' digital STRI score. Higher bubbles indicate higher levels of restrictiveness. An absence of bubble means a score of zero.
Source: OECD Digital STRI database (http://oe.cd/dx/dstri-db).