Foreign trade in non-tourism services in Spain

In developed economies, the services sector accounts for the bulk of value added and employment. In the case of Spain, it currently represents some two-thirds of nominal GDP and approximately 70% of total employment. Around the world, expansion in services outpaces growth in industrial activity, as economic development per se favours a demand shift towards services. This article focuses on one particular aspect of the services sector, namely Spanish foreign trade in non-tourism services in recent years, from the standpoint of developments in the main industrialised economies. Analysis of this aspect of services is appropriate, since in order to consolidate their external position it is increasingly important for advanced economies to play an active part in foreign trade in services. Developments in IT and communications, along with the recent liberalisation processes of trade in services, have helped remove the technical barriers that hindered trade, meaning that services other than tourism have become increasingly globalised. Foreign direct investment abroad, which may, at times, act as an alternative channel to exports of services, has also played a signifi cant role in their globalisation. Regarding the main regulatory developments in this fi eld, it should be noted that international trade in goods was liberalised before international trade in non-tourism services. In fact it was not until the Uruguay Round, which began in 1986 and ended in 1993, that this sector was included in the multilateral trade negotiations. In turn, the principal EU Directive in this respect dates back to 2006 and responded to the concern that over-regulation of services markets could be sapping European economies’ competitiveness and hampering creation of the single market. The next section describes how foreign trade in non-tourism services in Spain has developed, identifying the services that have grown the most and those in which Spain has become most specialised. The following section places Spain in the global setting, describing how trade in non-tourism services has developed worldwide and how Spain fares in relative terms. The article concludes with a summary of the main conclusions that may be drawn.