Services - main concepts

Services

The EU is the world’s largest trader of services. The term services covers a wide variety of sectors, such as

  • transport
  • telecommunications
  • professional services
  • financial services
  • postal and courier services
  • retail and distribution
  • environmental services
  • tourism

Opening up trade in services is not about removing barriers at the border, as there are no tariffs on services.

It is mainly about addressing discriminatory and quantitative restrictions that can hinder EU companies from supplying services outside the EU.

Modes of supply

Services can be traded in four different modes

  • mode 1 - cross border trade: from the territory of one country into the territory of another country
  • mode 2 - consumption abroad: in the territory of one country to the consumer of another country
  • mode 3 - commercial presence: by a service supplier of one country, through commercial presence, in the territory of another country 
  • mode 4 - presence of natural persons: by a service supplier of one country, through the presence of natural persons of a country in the territory of another country
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