Free trade agreements
Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI)
Published 13 July 2021
The number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have increased markedly over the last decade, with many addressing market openness and rule-making for services trade. Recent RTAs removes, on average, 10 to 40 percent of services restrictions present in the multilateral regime.
Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) have played an important role in breaking down trade barriers and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth. This paper analyses the extent to which applied regulatory regimes are bound in multilateral and regional trade agreements. It reveals that in comparison to the multilateral regime, RTAs significantly reduce restrictions to services trade. Liberalization of services comes mostly from reduction in restrictions to foreign entry and access to public procurement. Few RTAs however show significant liberalization in the movement of people.
Download the Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) by OECD.
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