Trade and Development Chart: Levels of restrictions countries committed to versus what they actually implement

There is a wide margin between actual levels of restrictions in services, as measured by the Services Trade Restrictions Index (STRI), and bound levels of restrictions in services (BSTRI) that countries committed not to exceed, in the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

This margin, equivalent to the “Water” in tariffs applied to goods, is particularly high among developing countries. Narrowing this margin, through new commitments, could go a long way in attracting additional foreign direct investments in services sectors, as reducing the uncertainty related to possible future policy reversals increasing restrictiveness in services trade. 

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