ABSTRACT
In the developed industrial countries, services now account for 50% to 60% of GNP1 and in North America in particular are at present the largest source of new jobs in the economy.2
At the same time, trade in services is thought to account for only about 20% to 25% of world trade.3 As comparative advantage in the production of many manufactured goods has shifted to the Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs), the developed industrial countries have become increasingly concerned with enhancement of trading opportunities in services, particularly in areas such as financial services, insurance, telecommunications, transportation, computer and professional services (e.g. architecture, engineering, law).
