Services and services trade are crucial for economic growth and employment. To improve the performance of their economies, countries need to get concrete information on inefficient, trade-restrictive policies in domestic and export markets. The OECD's Services Trade Restrictiveness Index can help identify which policy measures restrict trade and develop best practices.
The goods and services we buy are composed of inputs from various countries around the world. However, the flows of goods and services within these global production chains are not always reflected in conventional measures of international trade. The joint OECD – WTO Trade in Value-Added (TiVA) initiative addresses this issue by considering the value added by each country in the production of goods and services that are consumed worldwide. TiVA indicators are designed to better inform policy makers by providing new insights into the commercial relations between nations.