Importance of services in cross-border trade 

Services are more difficult to trade across borders than goods or securities, as producers and consumers frequently have to meet in person. This explains why services account for almost 80 % of gross national income (GNI), but only around 25 % of cross-border trade. Free trade agreements such as the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) are aimed at reducing trade barriers like these.

Data availability and time reference 

Data are currently available up to 2023 for the indirect supply of services via subsidiaries. Data for 2024 are already available for direct modes of supply (cross-border supply, consumption abroad, presence of natural persons).

Indirect supply via subsidiaries (commercial presence) 

Services are supplied on a large scale indirectly by subsidiaries in the partner country (“commercial presence”). In 2023, this mode of supply accounted for around 59 % of total services turnover on the receipts side and 46 % on the expenditure side. In nominal terms, this corresponds to receipts of €646 billion and expenditure of €417 billion. This means that a large part of the international supply of services is handled by subsidiaries domiciled abroad. Data for 2024 are not yet available for methodological reasons.

Direct modes of supply in 2024 

As regards direct modes of supply, most services were provided across borders in 2024, i.e. producers and consumers remained in their respective countries. This mode of supply is reflected in receipts of €365 billion and expenditure of €338 billion. 

“Consumption abroad” (e.g. tourism, study abroad) was significantly lower, with receipts of €73 billion and expenditure of €133 billion. “Presence of natural persons” (temporary secondment of service providers abroad, e.g. advisers, fitters) played an even smaller role, with receipts of €36 billion and expenditure of €43 billion.

Differences by partner country 

The importance of the different modes of supply varies widely across partner countries and depends on the structure of the services traded. Traditional tourist destinations have a particularly high share of the “consumption abroad” mode of supply, as tourists travel abroad to make use of services such as accommodation, food and beverage service activities or leisure activities. In other countries, the commercial presence of service providers plays a particularly important role, for example in financial centres or locations with a strong presence in trade and business-related services (e.g. bank branches, branches of consultancy firms).