# Streamlining Services Initiative

An Initiative for public-private cooperation to support countries and companies to increase services trade through improving regulatory frameworks and service-sector competitiveness.

[Learn more](https://www.streamliningservices.org/about)


## Why are services important?

The Economist described services are 'things that you cannot drop on your foot' as opposed to goods. Services encompass a wide range of economic activities, including financial services, information and communication services, professional services, transportation and logistics services among others.


**2/3 of global GDP** Services account for two-thirds of global GDP

**2x of growth** Globally, trade in services grew twice as fast as trade in goods from 2010 to 2019, representing 45% of world trade (in value-added terms)

**50% of employment** Services are an important source of employment generation, accounting for half of world employment

**3/5 of FDI** Over 60% of global foreign direct investment is in services industries


## The challenge

The cost of trade in services is twice that of trade in goods, and 40% of those costs come from opaque regulations, divergent standards, and cumbersome procedures. This disparity highlights a key challenge in international services trade – navigating regulatory complexities that far exceed those faced in goods trade. Barriers to trade in services are both widespread and substantial, and protectionist measures are on the rise for many global services. The greater price differences for services across countries, compared to goods, underscore that the biggest opportunities for trade growth lie in the globalization of services. Yet, global efforts to remove barriers to trade in services have been slow and fragmented.


## The opportunity

The Streamlining Services Initiative aims to address regulatory challenges (e.g. market access and red tape) that impact international trade in key services sectors. By supporting regulatory reforms, the Initiative seeks to enhance the performance of these sectors, thereby boosting their competitiveness and increasing services trade, leading to growth, employment generation, and well-being.

[Explore Members](https://www.streamliningservices.org/members)


## Our approach

Central to the Initiative is public-private cooperation. We achieve this through active engagement with business, regulators and government agencies involved daily in service-sector activities to solicit first-hand what regulatory challenges they are facing, specifically linked to market access and red tape barriers.These barriers include the following:


### Cross-cutting barriers

Trade-restrictive measures affecting all/many services sectors.


### Industry-specific barriers

Sector-specific measures pertaining to a specific sub-sector or industry.


## Featured insights

Blog articles

[Read more](https://initiatives.weforum.org/trade-in-services/static-insights)


### How finance and insurance can unlock innovation and ensure resilience through smart regulation

Insurance and finance can boost resilience through innovation, but need coordinated global regulation to unlock their full potential.


### How can we overcome barriers and leverage technology to shape the future of global services?

Three leaders across the financial services, information communication and technology (ICT), and transport sectors explain why services are crucial for trade.

[Explore](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/overcome-barriers-leverage-technology-shape-future-global-services/)


### How streamlining services trade can accelerate growth in the Middle East and Africa

Streamlining services frameworks can unlock trade and investment opportunities, grow economic competitiveness, and more.

[Explore](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/how-streamlining-services-can-accelerate-growth-mena/)


### 5 ways a new WTO agreement will remove barriers to trade in services

Services account for two-thirds of global GDP but the associated trade costs are higher than those for goods.

[Explore](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/5-ways-wto-agreement-remove-barriers-trade-services/)


### Get involved today

We are looking to engage businesses, governments, civil societies and other stakeholders in this work.

[Contact  us](https://www.streamliningservices.org/get-involved)


*Partner organizations and sponsors*