Description

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Services Profiles 2016 provides key statistics on "infrastructure services", i.e. transportation, telecommunications, finance and insurance, for 186 economies. This includes, for the first time, data for all 161 WTO members. The information is derived from multiple sources, such as national accounts, employment statistics, balance of payments statistics, foreign affiliates' trade in services statistics, foreign direct investment statistics and quantitative indicators largely sourced from international/regional organizations and specialized bodies. The profiles reflect data as contained in the WTO's Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP) services database as of July 2016.

About the Author

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The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was created in 1947 and operated almost five decades on a provisional basis until 1995 when the WTO was established. Its goal is to improve the welfare of peoples of its member countries, specifically by lowering trade barriers and providing a platform for the negotiation of trade. The organization deals with the rules of trade between nations at a global or near global level; it is responsible for negotiating and implementing new trade agreements and charged with policing Member Countries' adherence to all WTO agreements. In 2007 there were 150 Member States.