Services Trade Hits $9.6 Trillion, Opening New Doors for Developing Economies

The publication, Export Promotion Strategies for Services: Lessons from the Developing World, draws on nine country case studies to explain why services need a different approach from goods.

For developing economies looking beyond commodity and agricultural exports, the growing global market for services offers opportunities to reach new customers and create jobs. A report launched on 17 September by the World Trade Organization Secretariat and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC) explores how governments can help local businesses turn those opportunities into export earnings through stronger skills, investment and support tailored to the way services are sold.

The publication, Export Promotion Strategies for Services: Lessons from the Developing World, draws on nine country case studies to explain why services need a different approach from goods. Its central message is that attracting attention overseas is only part of the task, because potential customers also need confidence in a supplier's expertise, reliability and ability to deliver what has been promised.

A Growing Market Beyond Goods

Speaking at the launch, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala described services as the most dynamic part of world trade over the past two decades. Global services exports reached USD 9.6 trillion last year, accounting for a record share of almost 28 per cent of global trade on a balance-of-payments basis, underlining the sector's growing importance for countries searching for additional sources of income and employment.

Digitalization has expanded the possibilities for supplying services across borders, with digitally delivered services growing by an average of 8.5 per cent annually since 2005. The comparable rates were 4.7 per cent for goods and 5 per cent for other services, a gap that helps explain why the report calls for services to receive greater attention in national economic policies and development strategies.

For a business seeking customers abroad, access to a growing market does not automatically bring contracts. Okonjo-Iweala stressed the importance of training, reputation, professional networks and credibility, pointing to the work suppliers must do to demonstrate their capabilities and establish relationships with clients who need assurance about the quality of the service they are buying.

Skills and Trust Help Win Customers

The report examines experiences in Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Philippines and Uruguay, bringing together approaches from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. These cases show how export promotion connects with decisions about workforce development, investment attraction, regulation and digital infrastructure, making success dependent on more than the activities of a single government agency.

Nanno Mulder, Chief of UNECLAC's International Trade Unit, said many of the strongest results came from policies outside the traditional responsibilities of export promotion agencies. Skills development, certification, regulatory reform, digital trust and continuing support for investors all featured in the country experiences, alongside close coordination between public institutions and private businesses. Together, these measures help build the confidence that services exporters need to secure customers.

That connection matters because a promotional campaign cannot substitute for the capabilities required to fulfil a contract. The report points towards an integrated approach in which governments align export support with investment and training strategies, helping businesses develop the expertise and credibility needed to compete in international markets.

Turning Market Access Into Jobs

Anabel Gonzalez, the Inter-American Development Bank's Vice-President for Countries and Regional Integration, emphasized that market access needs to be backed by capable institutions, skilled workers, investment initiatives and stronger businesses. Trade rules and agreements create opportunities, but countries need finance and sustained practical support to convert those openings into exports, investment and employment, giving development banks an important role in connecting international commitments with action at home.

The publication received support from the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank Group. Their involvement reflects the range of institutions whose work intersects with services export development, particularly where governments need to connect trade promotion with investment, skills and broader competitiveness policies.

WTO Deputy Director-General Johanna Hill highlighted the need to design promotion around the characteristics of services, connect it with other policy areas and adapt lessons to local conditions. The different paths taken by the nine economies offer principles governments can learn from, rather than a single model to copy: businesses need credible ways to demonstrate their abilities, effective professional networks and coordinated support that responds to the realities of their domestic economy.