ABSTRACT
Services are distinguished from goods by their lack of tangibility, which means that they cannot be stored. The production and consumption of services must occur at the same time and, it used to be said, in the same place. But with the advent of telecommunications, telephone calls and the transmission of data, pictures and sound can take place over vast distances almost simultaneously. So the definition has to be qualified and it now encompasses items whose consumption and production generally take place at the same time and which are not tangible. They have therefore been regarded as more difficult to trade than manufactures. Of course, some services are associated with trade in goods such as shipping, air transport, and insurance. Indeed, one of the arguments for liberalizing trade in telecommunications is that they are the means by which merchandise trade is organized.
