A new addition to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Trade Monitoring Database allows anyone to search for laws, regulations or other measures adopted by members relating to trade in services, either by member, by services sector, or both.

Services has become an increasingly important part of global trade, amounting to about half of world trade in value-added terms. Services trade policies are key determinants of overall economic productivity and trade performance.

The addition of services is a complement to the existing information on measures related to trade in goods contained in the Trade Monitoring Database, which was revamped in 2019 to facilitate access to information on trade measures taken by WTO members and observers. Measures relating to intellectual property were also added to the Monitoring Database in 2021.

While most of the services measures identified in the WTO's trade monitoring reports since 2015 have provided for additional liberalization or otherwise facilitated trade, a number of them could be considered to be trade restrictive.

The information in the database comes from the trade monitoring reports, which are circulated by the WTO Secretariat in July and December each year as part of efforts to increase transparency on trade and trade-related measures implemented by members. The reports are prepared in consultation with member delegations, which are requested to verify the relevant information collected. – TradeArabia News Service