OECD SERVICES TRADE RESTRICTIVENESS INDEX (STRI)

Presentation, ITC/WTO 8 September 2014

What is the STRI?

A regulatory database

» Information sourced from laws and regulations in place

(currently covers more than 16000 laws and regulations)

» Verified and peer reviewed by governments, frequently updated

» Available online, highly interactive

Composite indices

» A snapshot of trade restrictiveness, 18 sectors across 40 countries

» STRIs take values between zero and one, one being the most restrictive

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Gross exports

VA exports

FDI inward

GDP

Employment

Services shares, OECD average

OECD

Why the STRI?

STRI sector coverage

» Computer services

» Construction

» Distribution

» Financial services › Commercial banking

› Insurance

» Professional services › Accounting

› Architecture

› Engineering

› Legal services

» Telecommunications

» Transport › Air

› Maritime

› Rail

› Road

› Courier

» Audiovisual services › Motion pictures

› broadcasting

› sound recording

STRI legal services

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Restrictions on foreign entry Restrictions to movement of people Other discriminatory measures

Barriers to competition Regulatory transparency Average

STRI Telecoms

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Restrictions on foreign entry Restrictions on the movement of people

Other discriminatory measures Barriers to competition

Regulatory transparency Average

STRI Commercial banking

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

AU

S

AU

T

BE

L

BR

A

CA

N

CH

E

CH

L

CH

N

CZ

E

DE

U

DN

K

ES

P

ES

T

FIN

FR

A

GB

R

GR

C

HU

N

IDN

IND

IRL

ISL

ISR

ITA

JP

N

KO

R

LU

X

ME

X

NL

D

NO

R

NZ

L

PO

L

PR

T

RU

S

SV

K

SV

N

SW

E

TU

R

US

A

ZA

F

Restrictions on market entry conditions Restrictions on the movement of people

Other discriminatory measures Barriers to competition

Regulatory transparency Average

STRI (average, minimum and maximum

scores by sector)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Minimum

Maximum

Average

h

Countries with high trade barriers import less,

but also export less services

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

Air Legal services Insurance Banking

Estimated growth in trade from lowering the STRI

Imports

Exports

Services trade restrictions matter for

services performance in banking,…

Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) Net interest margin

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

Low STRI Medium STRI High STRI0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

3.5%

4.0%

4.5%

5.0%

Low STRI Medium STRI High STRI

….In transport…

Maritime transport and STRI Road transport and STRI

05

10

15

Days

Low_STRI Middle_STRI High_STRI

time for imports time for exports

05

10

15

20

Days

Low_STRI Middle_STRI High_STRI

time for imports time for exports

And in telecoms…

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

ST

RI

tele

co

ms

Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants

Water in the GATS (average across 12 sectors)

Level of trade restrictiveness permitted by the

GATS (bound level)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Actual level of trade restrictiveness (STRI)

» The STRI provides a snapshot of individual countries,

relative to average and best practise

» Allows countries to benchmark,

» …trade negotiators to target bottlenecks,

» …and firms to identify requirements to enter new

markets

» The STRI does not prescribe generic solutions,

» …but helps governments to identify opportunities to

improve their services policy performance.

Concluding comments

For more information, please visit

http://oe.cd/stri

and get free access to STRI analysis & tools including

More information

› 40 country notes

› 18 sector notes

› A policy brief

› The compare your country tool

› An interactive policy simulator

› Our comprehensive regulatory

database