STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Agenda
Item 4b
Report of Interagency Task Force
of International Trade in Services
in Beirut 23-24 March 2010
OECD Statistics Directorate
Bettina.Wistrom@OECD.org
3rd WPTGS meeting 4-6 October 2010, OECD
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Outline of this presentation
• Conclusions UN Statistical Committee
• Activity report TFSITS 23-24 March 2010.
– Finalising MSITS2010
– Broad Economic Classification (BEC)
– Analytical toolbox
– Regional experience and plans
– Data quality and comparability
– SDMX
• Getting the implementation started
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Conclusions of the UNSC 1/2
• The MSITS 2010 was adopted by the
UNSC at the last session in February 2010
• The TF was urged to take note of the
following points:
1. Importance of Compilation Guide (CG)
2. Significance of Trade in Services (TIS) in
globalization and links to other frameworks
3. Emphasis on linking MSITS to BPM6 and SNA,
and to commodity trade
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Conclusions of the UNSC 2/2
4. Importance to the following areas: FATS
(outward in particular), tourism statisticscontribution to regional trade, valuation and
pricing, research and development.
5. The Task Force is to put in place a timeframe
for the implementation
6. The Task Force was encouraged to contribute
actively to the implementation of MSITS 2010
7. Training is particularly important in Trade in
Services because of the complexity of these
statistics.
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Finalising MSITS
• TF discussed how to advance online
correspondences, annexes and other docs
(glossary, foreword, acknowledgments,
etc)
• Correspondence: Issue of “missing” new
BOP/EBOPS codification flagged
• TF would collaborate and share current
drafts among members to advance on
finalising MSITS 2010.
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
The Broad Economic
Classification
• TF discussed the revision of BEC and its
possible extension to services.
• TF recognized the analytical interest of
extending BEC to services in order to
improve the link between trade data and
SNA .
• But it was felt that a priority should be
given to the correspondence between
EBOPS and CPC vers 2.
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Analytical toolbox
• The six themes of analytical note or
“toolbox” were reviewed.
• Would be provided online as “living
document” and revised every two years.
• Could also be integrated with the TF WTO
training module.
• Relating to market access, update given
on the OECD Service Trade
Restrictiveness Index project.
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Regional experience and plans
• Activities in Western Asia and Banque du
Liban presented.
• TF particularly impressed by BDL clever
use of available source of information to
compile trade in services (Ministry of
Finance, Ministry of economy, General
security, Ministry of Labour, Banking and
Financial sector through ITRS, BDL
departments amongst others).
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Data quality
• Good discussion on data quality and
comparability of IO databases.
• A WTO taxonomy on different data quality
issues presented.
• Taxonomy will be tested on actual data
and cases and presented at next TF
meeting in Paris 7th October 2010.
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
SDMX
• Update on OECD SDMX project
• Pilot on TIS (and FTS) would be
conducted on limited number of countries
with involvement of OECD Statistics IT
people.
• Long term project would eventually
improve sharing/quality of the data.
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
Getting the implementation started.
• The TF would act as the consultative group to the
redaction of service part of the IMF compilation guide
with regular submission of drafts to the TF.
• TF will revisit the comments from countries received
during worldwide consultations 2 and 3 to gather ideas
about which areas should be covered as requested by
countries
• At next meeting (Paris 7th October), issue of adding
modules on FATS and supply of services by mode
further discussed.
• Bibliographies and available questionnaires
(FATS/SITS) should start to be gathered.
• Issue of resources (including money) raised
STD/TBS/Trade and Competitiveness Section
• Thank you for your attention!