Liberalizing Services Trade. Insights from the OECD STRI

Global services trade regulations showed signs of liberalization in 2021, hitting a pause button on the steady rise in trade barriers witnessed in previous years. According to the recently released 2021 Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI), services liberalization outpaced new restrictions during 2021. This however varies across countries and across sectors.

At the panel discussion held on the 17th of February 2022, Janos Ferencz (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)) presented the 2021 issue of the STRI. The panelists included Biswajit Nag (India Institute of Foreign Trade), Ben Shepherd (Developing Trade Consultants) and Quan Zhao (International Trade Centre). The event was moderated by Hildegunn Kyvik Nordås (Council on Economic Policies).