Defining international trade in services as a specific form of world economic relations for the exchange of services between sellers and buyers different countries, experts pay attention to its features:
International trade services is closely related and (or) interconnected with trade in physical goods. As a rule, the purchase and sale of material goods entails a whole train of services: marketing, transport, financial, insurance, service (maintenance). And the more technically complex and expensive a material good is, the wider the range of services associated with its movement. At the same time, trade in services increasingly contributes to the promotion of physical goods in the foreign market: marketing research and market analysis, financial and information support, improved transportation and other services “pave the way” for tangible goods and increase the efficiency of trade in them. Thus, if traditionally physical goods “pulled” services with them, now, with very tough competition in the global market for physical goods, “pushing” them to other countries is carried out with the help and thanks to services.
Due to their specificity, not all services can be the object of foreign trade. According to the criterion of possible participation in international trade, all services are divided into three groups:
services that can be the object of foreign trade. These, for example, include transport services: also international tourism, financial, insurance, banking services;
services that, due to their characteristics, cannot be offered on the world market. Typically these include utilities and some household services. Note that the range of such services is gradually narrowing;
services that may or may not be the object of foreign trade. These include most of the services; their range expands as scientific and technological progress. Thus, the services of fast food systems, cultural institutions, healthcare, sports, etc. are increasingly being drawn into foreign trade.
International trade in services more than trade in physical goods:
protected by the state from foreign competition. Many governments believe that large-scale imports of services can pose a threat to sovereignty and security. Therefore, international trade in services is regulated more strictly by the state;
monopolized. “The foreign share in the banking total of the French bank Credit Lyon, which ranks ninth in the global rating list, is 46.4%. In the secondary insurance market, there are 32 largest insurance companies concentrated in their hands more than 70% of its volume. Each of the six largest auditing companies in the world has its representative offices in more than 110 countries, and their total share in industry revenue is estimated at 30%; 60% of the global consulting services market is concentrated in the hands of 40 companies";
International trade in services is a special sector of world trade, the object of which is a variety of types of services.
The peculiarity of a service as a product is its usefulness not as a thing, but as an activity. Services cannot be accumulated or stored. Some services are classified as non-exportable goods, since their consumption coincides with the process of creation, and transport costs, accompanying their receipt may be too significant. For example, the cost of a woman's haircut and hairstyle in 1989 in dollars ranged from $46.4 in Tokyo, $36.8 in Zurich and Paris, to $9.9 in Mexico City and $9.5 in Moscow. But no matter how expensive the services of a hairdresser in Tokyo or Paris are, it’s hardly worth spending money on tickets to Mexico City or Moscow to save on a haircut.
The rapid development of the service sector, which has led to an increase in the volume of international exchange of services, has been observed in developed countries since the 1930s.
However, the starting point for the change in the role of this sector in the economy is considered to be the mid-1950s, when in the United States the number of people employed in the service sector exceeded the number of people employed in material production. In the early 1980s. in the USA, and a few years later in Western Europe the gross product of the sphere of interpersonal services exceeded the gross product of the sphere material production. The rate of its growth exceeded similar indicators in the sphere of material production: in France - 2 times, in the USA and Germany - 6 times, in England - 30 times. This trend is also observed on the scale of the global economy: the share of services now amounts to almost 2/3 of the world’s gross product, in a number of developed countries it reaches 70-80% of GDP.
The movement of services as an object of international trade is reflected in the current account of the balance of payments. According to the methodology for compiling the balance of payments developed International Monetary Fund the services account takes into account 11 of their basic types: transport services (passenger and freight transportation); services related to travel (business, tourism); communication services (postal, courier, telephone and other communications between residents and non-residents); construction of facilities abroad; insurance of non-residents by resident insurance companies; financial services (commission for opening letters of credit, currency exchange, brokerage services, etc.); computer and information services; royalties and license fees; other business services (intermediary, leasing, legal, accounting, advertising, etc.); personal, cultural and recreational services; government services.
Other international organizations use their own classification approaches for various analytical purposes. In particular, analysts World Bank (IBRD) use a more generalized approach and divide all services into two groups: factorial, related to the movement of capital, labor force and other components and tools production process, And non-factorial, which are non-financial in nature (transport, tourism and others).
In accordance with the approach adopted UNCTAD - International economic organization for trade and development, there are 8 types of services: financial; communication services; construction and design; transport; professional and business (legal, medical, etc.); commercial; tourist; audiovisual (television, video-cinema).
According to the WTO, over 600 types of services are provided in the world. The WTO classifier systematizes them into 12 groups: commercial services; communication services; construction and related engineering services; distributor services; educational services; environmental services; financial services; health services and social sphere; travel services; services for organizing recreation, cultural and sports events; transport services; other services).
Methods of international trade in services cover: - cross-border deliveries, that is, the provision of services across borders. The supplier and buyer of the service do not move across the border, only the service crosses it (services transmitted through means of communication - consultations by telephone/fax, delivery of services by mail, transfer of money through banks; materialized services (technical report of a consultant, disk with software), transport services;
- consumption abroad - movement of consumers to the country of export of services (tourism, education services and medical services in institutions of another country, services for the repair of ships sent for this purpose to another country);
- commercial presence - relocation of a service provider abroad (opening a foreign commercial representative office - creating a bank branch, subsidiary, etc.);
- presence of individuals - temporary relocation of individuals to another country for the purpose of providing services there (tours of theaters, artists, lectures by university professors, services of architects, lawyers, invitation of a foreign consultant, etc.).
Structural shifts in international trade in goods towards a growing share of finished and high-tech products have caused structural changes in trade in services. In the structure of services, there is a rapid increase in the share of services of a scientific, technical, production, financial, credit and commercial nature, which is accompanied by the emergence of new types of services, such as engineering, leasing, factoring, consulting, computer and information services. Expansion of the list international services became possible to a large extent thanks to the advent of modern information technology and telecommunications. Since the mid-1990s. The Internet has become a powerful factor in the growth of global trade in services.
In 2010, global services exports amounted to 3.7 trillion. dollars, and the volume of imports is 3.5 trillion. dollars. In the modern structure of the world services market, the largest share is held by computer and information services (65.09%) and transport services (21.02%); communication services to become 6.06%; other business services - 4.64%; financial services - 3.15%; others - 0.05%.
The global turnover of services is predominantly concentrated in the group of industrialized countries. In 2010, the share of economically developed countries in global business services exports was close to 90%. World leaders in exports commercial services are: USA (14.1%), Great Britain (7%), Germany (6.8%), France (4.3%), China and Japan (3.8% each), Spain (3.6%) , Italy (3%), Singapore and Hong Kong (2.6%). Russia ranks 23rd with a share of 1.2%, Ukraine is not among the 50 leading countries. The world's leading importers of commercial services are: USA (10.5%), Germany (8.1%), UK (5.1%), China (5%), Japan (4.7%), France (4% ), Italy (3.6%), Singapore (2.6%), Hong Kong (1.4%). Russia ranks 16th with a share of 1.9%, Ukraine is not among the 50 leading countries.
Ukraine's participation in international trade in services also runs counter to global trends. It largely boils down to “providing the service of its territory” for the transit of Russian energy resources, which is why the largest share of Ukrainian trade in services falls on the Russian Federation (44.2% of exports and 14.5% of imports in 2010), and the largest is the share of computer and information services, and transport, especially services pipeline transport- 28.9%. At the same time, the level of exports of business and tourism services, and especially information services, does not correspond to Ukraine’s potential.
The largest share in the total volume of Ukrainian exports falls on transport (67.1%), various business, professional and technical services (12.7%), and repair services (3.3%). Greatest growth for 2000-2010 reach insurance (2.5 times), financial (2.2 times) and computer services (2.5 times). Largest share in the total volume of imports of services were transport (21.1%), financial services (19.9%), various business, professional and technical services (15.7%), government services (11.3%). Imports of financial (2 times), insurance (1.7 times), as well as services to individuals and in the cultural and recreational industries (1.7 times) grew at the fastest rates. Imports of computer and government services decreased.
Differences between goods and services(visible and invisible servants). Goods are stored, but services are not. Trade in goods is not directly related to production and consumption must coincide in time. International commodity turnover falls into a much larger share of produced goods. A significant share of produced services is non-tradable. In the international For trade in goods, the institution of intermediaries is acceptable. For services, the use of the institution of intermediaries is difficult and rare.
International trade in services, unlike trade in goods, where the role of trade intermediation is great, is based on direct contacts between producers and consumers. The fact is that services, unlike goods, are produced and consumed mostly simultaneously and cannot be stored. Because of this, international trade in services requires either the presence of their direct producers abroad, or the presence of foreign consumers in the country producing the services. At the same time, the development of computer science has significantly expanded the possibilities of providing many types of services at a distance. .
Features and specifics of organizing international trade in services Trade goods and services, along with some other items, are included in the current account of the balance of payments of any country. Negotiations on the liberalization of trade in services are being conducted in parallel with negotiations on the liberalization of trade in goods. However, there are serious qualitative differences between goods and services, as well as in the organization and technique of international trade in them. Differences between goods and services. 1) Goods 2) Services 1) Tangible 2) Intangible 1) Visible 2) Invisible 1) Storable 2) Non-storable 1) Trade in goods is not always associated with production 2) Trade in services is usually associated with production 1) Export of goods means export of goods from the customs territory abroad without the obligation to re-import. 2) Export of a service means the provision of a service to a non-resident, even if he is located in the customs territory of the country
It is precisely because of the intangibility and invisibility of most services that trade in them is sometimes called invisible exports and imports. Unlike goods, the production of services is often combined with their export under a single contract and requires a direct meeting between the seller and the buyer. However, in this case there are numerous exceptions. For example, some services are quite tangible (a printed report from a consultant or computer program on a floppy disk), are quite visible (a model's haircut or a theatrical performance), can be stored (telephone answering service) and do not always require direct interaction between the buyer and the seller (automatic withdrawal of money from a bank using a debit card).
International trade in services compared to trade in goods has the following features:
It is regulated not at the border, but within the country by the relevant provisions of domestic legislation. The absence or presence of the fact that a service crosses the border cannot be a criterion for the export of a service.
Services are not subject to storage. They are produced and consumed at the same time. Therefore, most types of services are based on direct contracts between their producers and consumers;
Production and sale of services have a large state protection than the sphere of material production and trade.
International trade in services is closely related to and has a strong impact on trade in goods. For example, the impact of the service sector on trade in knowledge-intensive goods, which requires large volumes, is great maintenance, informational and various consulting services;
Not all types of services, unlike goods, can be traded.
The difference between international trade in services and international trade in goods is the diversity, heterogeneity and versatility of various types of services; the complexity of a unified approach to regulating their import and export, and to the application of generally accepted international trade standards to trade in services, in particular most favored nation and national treatment.
Prerequisites for the formation and structure of the services market.
Features of international trade in licenses, know-how and engineering services.
State and factors of tourism development.
World information market.
Prerequisites for the formation and structure of the services market
Currently, in the world economy, along with the markets for goods, labor and capital, the services market is rapidly developing. The basis for the formation of the latter is the service sector, which occupies a significant place in the economies of the world. Thus, the share of services in the GDP of developed countries is now approximately 70%, and that of developing countries – 55%.
SERVICE is a worthwhile activity that one party can offer to the other.
The results of this activity are not embodied in a material product, but are expressed in beneficial effect that satisfies any needs of people.
Especially rapid growth The development of the service sector occurs in the second half of the twentieth century. This is due to the following factors:
firstly, labor productivity in material production in the conditions of scientific and technical progress is growing at a rapid pace, which makes it possible to significantly reduce the number of people employed in this area;
secondly, a further deepening of the division of labor leads to the formation of new types of activities, and, above all, in the service sector;
thirdly, the transition of the developed countries of the world, and after them other countries, to the modern “information society”, which is based on the growth in consumption of services, especially information ones;
fourthly, in recent decades, many countries around the world have achieved a high degree of economic maturity and a high standard of living of the population. Practice shows that in these conditions the demand is growing, first of all, for services.
International trade in services, unlike trade in goods, has a number of features.
1. A special feature of the service is that it is produced and consumed simultaneously and is not subject to storage.
2. Trade in services on the world market is closely linked to trade in goods and has an increasing impact on it. This is explained by the fact that for effective export of goods it is necessary to attract more services ranging from market analysis to transportation and service goods.
3. Not all types of services, unlike goods, are suitable for involvement in international trade. This primarily applies to such types of services as utilities and household services.
4. International trade in services, to a greater extent than trade in goods, is protected by the state from foreign competition.
Due to the nature of services as an object of international trade, they almost never cross the customs border, which means they cannot be recorded by customs authorities. Providing a service to a foreign client in many cases presupposes the territorial proximity of the manufacturer to the consumer and can be carried out through subsidiaries, branches, representative offices, etc. in the country where there is demand for this service. Another option is possible when the consumer of the service moves to the country of its production.
All types of services are extremely diverse: they can be industrial in nature or satisfy personal needs.
From the point of view of the movement of factors of production, services are divided into factorial associated with the crossing of the border by factors of production, primarily capital and labor, and non-factorial– other types of services.
In addition, until recently, services in international trade were divided into tradable And non-tradable. This division was made on the basis of the principle of so-called cross-border exchange, i.e. such an exchange, when the producer and consumer of the service were on opposite sides of the customs border, and the exchanged service crossed this border (by analogy with trade in ordinary goods). Examples of this type of cross-border exchange of services are telecommunications and postal services. Services that were not capable of cross-border exchange were considered non-tradable. Currently formulated new approach related to the classification of international services. Within the framework of the WTO, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was signed, according to which the exchange of services at the international level can be carried out in the following main ways:
1. Cross-border supply - a service moves across the customs border when the consumer and manufacturer are on opposite sides of the customs border (for example, communication services).
2. Consumption abroad - a foreign consumer of a service moves to the territory of the country where this service is produced (for example, medical, educational, tourist and other services).
3. Commercial presence - a foreign producer of a service himself moves to the territory of the country where its consumer is located (for example, financial services).
4. Presence of individuals – movement of individuals – residents of one state, producing and/or consuming services in another state.
As a result of this new approach, most types of manufactured services became tradable services.
International trade in services is one of the fastest growing sectors of the world economy. According to the International Monetary Fund, total services exports currently account for approximately 20% of the world's total exports of goods and services. This figure continues to grow, and by 2015, according to estimates from the Institute of World Economy and international relations RAS, share of services by 2015 will be 30%. International exports of services are growing faster than international exports of goods. Exports of services from 1980 to 2005 increased more than 4 times.
Geographical structure International trade in services is characterized by extreme unevenness in favor of developed countries. International exchange of services takes place primarily within the group of industrialized countries. Although the trend in international trade in services, as in international trade in goods, is to gradually reduce the share of this group of countries, their share of world exports of services currently stands at 75%. At the same time, four countries: the USA, Germany, Great Britain and France account for 44% of all world exports of services. Most developing countries have a negative balance in foreign trade in services, although some of them are large exporters of services. Thus, Singapore specializes in financial services, Mexico in tourism, and South Korea on construction services. The role of new industrial states, China, in international trade in services is increasing.
The services market is highly diverse and, in turn, breaks down into narrower markets: technology, tourism, transport, information and other services. Industry structure The services market is changing rapidly. For recent years The share of transport in world exports has decreased: freight and other transport services. At the same time, the share of tourism and such modern types of services as the exchange of technology, knowledge, experience, and information is increasing. They are the most dynamic in all service exports. Peculiarity modern market services lies in their diversification. By offering entire packages of services, companies increase their competitiveness and reduce the risks of their operations. Many types of services tend to be consolidated. For example, stock exchange, insurance, banking and intermediary services are merging into a single set of financial services. In addition, the emergence of TNCs in the international services market as its subjects has led to the fact that the diversification of their activities in the service sector also began to blur the boundaries between individual types of services.
The growth of international trade in services has raised the question of the need to regulate the global services market. For quite a long time, international trade in services was regulated on a bilateral basis. Moreover, in the 70s and 80s, many states strictly regulated trade in services, protecting the young sector and pursuing a policy of protectionism. Prices and standards were controlled, barriers appeared, various forms of customs restrictions, licensing, etc.
Currently current system regulation operates at several levels. Regulation of international trade in services has moved to the regional and international levels.
In 1986, the first attempt was made to discuss issues of trade in services at the global level. At the conference in Uruguay, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was adopted, which entered into force in 1995. An agreement was also reached there on the liberalization of trade in services and the gradual removal of national barriers that impede the movement of services on the world market.
Basic principles of GATS on international trade in services:
1. Providing most favored nation treatment – establishing equal treatment of services and their producers from different countries.
2. Transparency of regulation - the presence of a help desk in each country that provides other countries with information about the current legislation in the services market.
3. Mutual recognition of the qualifications of service providers (certificates, licenses, etc.).
4. Rules governing issues related to restricting competition in the service sector.
5. Obligations to liberalize the services market.
At the international level, there are also a number of specialized intergovernmental organizations under the auspices of the UN, whose activities are aimed at regulating services and trade in them within the framework of individual industries. For example, the international transport organization is the Inland Transport Committee of the United Nations Environmental Commission for Europe. This Committee analyzes issues related to the problems of all types of transport and communications in Europe, develops projects international treaties and agreements.
In the field of maritime transport, such issues are dealt with by the International Maritime Organization, and in the field of international tourism – by the World Tourism Organization.
All forms of regulation are clearly economic in nature and are aimed at improving and developing the international services market.
Services are extremely diverse in form and content. According to the WTO classification, the number of types of services in foreign trade exceeds 600. All types of services can be divided into 11 blocks:
2. Transport services (international transportation of passengers and goods);
3. Trade services (marketing, sales agents, franchising, retail and wholesale trade);
4. Construction services (construction of various facilities abroad);
5. Information services (telegraph, mail, Internet, etc.);
6. Financial services (banking transactions, currency exchange, transactions with securities);
7. Educational services;
8. Health care and recreational services to restore health;
9. Tourist services;
10. Environmental protection services;
11. Other services.
Many services entering international circulation are included in export-import transactions, and the cost of services constitutes a significant part of the cost of the product.
Features of international trade in licenses,
know-how and engineering services
An integral part of the international services market is the international technology market.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN TECHNOLOGIES represents the transfer on a commercial basis to a foreign counterparty of the results of scientific and technical activities that have both scientific and practical value.
OBJECTS trading technology on the world market are the results intellectual activity in materialized and immaterial form. TO materialized form include prototypes, individual technological lines and units that are sold for further production using new technology. Insubstantial form– this is experience, knowledge, technical documentation, licenses for the use of the results of scientific and technical developments.
SUBJECTS international technology market are scientific research organizations, higher educational institutions, commercial firms, government, individuals- inventors and scientists.
TECHNOLOGY is part of the intellectual property and is therefore protected by national legislation and international agreements. It should be noted that only in the last two decades have unified international legal (patent) requirements begun to be developed. The fact remains that the bulk of intellectual property is protected in two countries - the United States and Japan.
There is a specialized agency in the UN system - World organization intellectual property - WIPO. WIPO is engaged in ensuring the international registration of intellectual property, collecting and distributing scientific and technical information, publishing reference books, reviews and various guides. WIPO plays a major role in assisting developing countries in the field of intellectual property protection.
Within the framework of the World Trade Organization, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) was signed. This Agreement regulates those aspects of intellectual property rights that are related to international trade. TRIPS proclaims the obligation of the parties to the Agreement to provide national treatment in the field of intellectual property rights to citizens of other countries participating in the Agreement, as well as most favored nation treatment. In addition, TRIPS spells out methods and forms of legal protection of intellectual property rights, establishes provisions for its acquisition, and develops a procedure for resolving disputes. In general, TRIPS creates conditions that contribute to the formation of new incentives for investment in knowledge-intensive industries and the development of international trade in technology.
Technology becomes a commodity only under certain conditions. Not every scientific and technical idea turns into a commodity. Out of every 100 ideas, no more than one is developed, and out of every 100 new products that embody new ideas, no more than 90 are accepted by the market.
Technology becomes a commodity only when a real basis for commercializing the idea has been created. The main commercial technology transfer is the sale of licenses and know-how. In addition, it should be emphasized that almost all commercial technology transfer is formalized or accompanied by a license agreement, which, in addition to patented information, may set out a number of other requirements, such as the obligation of the license buyer to use the received technology only within certain boundaries, to acquire in the form of so-called “related procurement" large volume of technologically simple products - components, semi-finished products, etc. LICENSE is a document certifying the right to use a patent under certain conditions. Licenses are divided into simple, exclusive and full.
Simple license gives the buyer (licensee) the right to use the licensed object within certain limits. It allows the owner to sell the same license multiple times on the market. Exclusive license involves the transfer to the licensee of the exclusive (monopoly) right to use the patent, i.e. effectively means selling a patent.
Full license means that the licensor does not have the right to use the subject of the license for the period of validity of the agreement.
However, there are other types of licenses. Often, when supplying complete equipment for construction, this transaction is accompanied by the sale of a license. This license is called accompanying as she comes in integral part into the general contract.
In the practice of trading licenses, there is also the concept of “cross-licensing”, in which parties to an agreement exchange licenses for industrial property items belonging to them in order to obtain additional profit. The state can also intervene in the process of using a patent obtained in the country, i.e. force the patent owner to transfer to others the right to use his patent. This license is called forced.
The license fee is divided into periodic – royalties and one-time aural.
ROYALTY is rent for intellectual resources. It is paid in the form of a royalty on the user's license income during the term of the agreement.
LATE CHARGE– this is an amount firmly fixed in the licensing agreement, which does not depend on the volume of production and sales of products.
Another object of commercial transactions in the technology market is KNOW-HOW– non-patented technology, including scientific, technical and economic knowledge, production and economic experience, set of skills.
It is now quite well known that without know-how, in most cases it is impossible to reproduce an industrially developed new technology. Without know-how, it is practically impossible to apply inventions, the rights to which were acquired from third-party developers. Because of this, know-how is becoming increasingly valuable.
On modern stage Scientific and technological progress, when they develop at a particularly rapid pace high technology, in industries such as computer technology, electronics, and communications, the importance of know-how has increased significantly. At the same time, the modern trend is to maintain the secrecy of know-how for as long as possible. Since patent law is easy to circumvent, owners of new technological secrets prefer not to patent their inventions for fear of their rapid disclosure. In this regard, in recent years the volume of international trade in patent-free licenses (know-how) has increased sharply.
The success of a transaction for the sale of new technologies is facilitated by such factors as the significance of the invention, its legal protection, efficiency and mastery of production. The last factor is especially important, since the invention introduced into production allows the buyer to really experience its technical and economic advantages. However, one should not assume that the sale of licenses for an undeveloped invention (i.e., a “bare idea”) will not be able to find a buyer on the world market. There are quite a lot of intermediary and implementation companies in the world that buy such developments, taking upon themselves various kinds risks, and are engaged in their subsequent resale or introduction into production.
A feature of trading in licenses and know-how is that, on the one hand, when advertising it is necessary to provide a technical description of the innovation and a feasibility study, and on the other hand, a balance of confidentiality must be ensured so that a potential buyer cannot use their object based on the available information without making a subsequent purchase. All this is also due to the fact that in recent years, in addition to the official one, the illegal “transfer” of technology in the form of industrial espionage and technological piracy - the mass production and sale of imitation technologies by shadow structures - has become widespread.
According to some estimates, up to a third of foreign marketing services and research departments of large corporations are involved in industrial espionage in one way or another. The latter is most developed in Southeast Asia.
If it is impossible to interest the buyer in the subject matter of the license and know-how without disclosing the main aspects of the invention, in world practice the form of an option agreement is used. The essence of this agreement is as follows: the buyer makes an advance payment (10-30% of the total cost of the license) and receives access to information under complete confidentiality. After reading this information, he either buys a license and the paid amount is included in the total cost of the license, or refuses the purchase, but the paid amount is not returned to him.
Another important element of the technology market is the trade in engineering services. Services such as “engineering” arose in developed countries in the 60s and are now widespread. The main reason for this is the growth of investment in fixed assets of enterprises and the need to increase the efficiency of their development.
INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING– is the provision of services of a production, commercial, engineering, design and scientific and technical nature. All types of engineering services can be divided into two large groups.
1. Services related to the preparation and establishment of the production process (pre-project services: soil research, mineral exploration, topographic surveys, etc.; project services: development of engineering projects, project cost assessment, preparation of working drawings, etc.; post-project services services: project management, acceptance testing, training of engineering and technical personnel, etc.).
2. Services the purpose of which is to increase the profitability of production (services for inspection and testing of equipment, operation of the facility; assistance in financial matters, sales of products, implementation of systems information support etc.).
International engineering can be provided either by a general contractor, a technology supplier, or an engineering consulting firm.
General contractor usually provides construction engineering, consisting mainly of the design and supply of equipment, as well as its installation, acceptance testing, etc., usually under a separate contract.
Technology Provider provides technological engineering services, the essence of which is the sale of technology to the customer, which involves the simultaneous transfer of know-how, production experience, and a patent.
Engineering consulting firms provide consulting engineering services. Services of this kind help to reduce project implementation time, quickly gain specialized knowledge, experience in the field of engineering and technology, organization and management of production and sales, increase the efficiency of capital investments, etc. Since the consultant is independent of the customer’s administration, he is able to objectively assess the current situation in the company, identify existing shortcomings and omissions, and inform the customer about them.
Due to the fact that engineering-type services are often packaged with other forms of technology transfer, certain difficulties are created for entrepreneurs entering into this type of transaction. For example, it may be difficult to determine the cost of services or their share in total amount contract, resolve the issue of distribution of proceeds between industrialists, research and development organizations, etc.
The greatest difficulty is the issue of distinguishing between engineering and transfer of know-how. The main difference is that when providing services such as “engineering”, it is necessary to carry out a set of works specified in the contract according to the customer’s instructions. With a simple transfer of know-how, this is not at all necessary.
Speaking about the current trend in the development of international technology trade, the following should be noted.
1. Technology exchange is increasingly seen as an equal part of an enterprise's business strategy. For example, the sale of licenses facilitates trade in goods through the supply of components or raw materials, which, in turn, is a means of entering the market of a number of countries.
2. Increasingly, technology transfer agreements include a comprehensive provision of services, including the transfer of know-how, patent rights, design and technological documentation, performance of engineering-type work, etc.
3. The growth rate of trade in technology significantly exceeds the growth rate of trade in other goods. The reason is so rapid development international technology market lies in the high profitability of trade in such goods. Thus, when selling technologies, costs usually amount to no more than 10-25% of sales volumes.
4. Increasingly, cooperative ties between firms arise and develop on the basis of licensing agreements.
5. Participation in international trade in technology offers great prospects, but requires careful development of agreements and contracts. In this case, the qualifications of specialists should be higher than when concluding transactions for the export-import of traditional products.
New technologies are driving force global economic growth. However, currently there is a high degree of differentiation in the technological development of countries around the world. Only a very small number of countries with a small population (approximately 15%) are advancing technological progress. This first group of countries - technological leaders - includes 18 countries, among which the largest technological powers are Japan, the USA, Sweden, South Korea, Singapore, etc. These countries are self-sufficient in innovative development. The second group, the group of potential leaders, is led by Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic. In most of these countries, innovation activity is low, but they invest heavily in a high level of specialist training and widely use old and new technologies. The level of professionalism of the workforce in these countries is comparable to the level of training in the leading countries.
The third group of countries are follower countries. This includes countries such as China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa, etc. These countries are developing high-tech sectors of the economy and have world-class research centers, have a fairly high level of specialist training, but the spread of new technologies here is slow and complicated.
The fourth group of countries are countries that are on the periphery of technological development. They do not create or implement foreign technologies. Vocational training labor force is extremely low. It should be noted that the technological boundaries of the world are not fixed: a number of technological regions can quickly become technological followers, but for this it is necessary to have the ability not only to create their own technologies, but also to introduce new ones.
State and factors of tourism development
Tourism accounts for a significant and growing share of international trade in services.
TOURIST- according to international statistics, any person visiting another country for any purpose other than professional activities, paid in this country. There are three main types of international tourism: recreational, scientific and business.
RECREATIONAL TOURISM– is tourism, which is associated with recreation in the broad sense of the word. This may include travel for medical treatment, exercise, attending sporting events, and meeting friends and relatives.
SCIENTIFIC TOURISM– this is participation in scientific symposiums, congresses, conferences.
BUSINESS TOURISM– these are meetings with business people, visits to enterprises, international exhibitions for informational purposes and the possibility of subsequently concluding contracts.
The growing demand for tourism services is explained by two factors.
Firstly, this is primarily the socio-economic development of countries, which is manifested in the growth of income and free time of the population, an increase in the duration of paid vacations, a sufficient level of pensions, etc.
Secondly, progress in the development of transport, its reduction in cost and accessibility, the removal and easing of currency restrictions, and the liberalization of the visa regime.
The leading intergovernmental organization responsible for the development of tourism is the World Tourism Organization, which has been operating since 1975. Over the years of its existence, the World Trade Organization has adopted a number of declarations and other documents on the organization of international tourism, including the Tourism Charter and the Code of Conduct for Tourists (1985). ), published statistical reference books and forecasts, and offered information data banks for the tourism business.
Currently, the tourism industry is one of the most dynamically developing sectors of the world economy's service sector, occupying one of the leading places in world exports. At the beginning of the 21st century. Tourism accounted for about 8% of world exports, 30% of world trade in services, 10.8% of world gross product, 9.4% of world capital investment. For 83% of countries, tourism is one of the five sources of income, and for 38% - main source. For example, the share of income from international tourism in the total income from the export of goods and services in Cyprus is 52%, in Spain, Austria, Turkey - more than 35%, in Portugal - about 20%.
International tourism is one of the three largest industries in the world, second only to the automotive industry and the oil industry. According to economists' forecasts, after 2010. tourism will become the world's leading export industry. It is predicted that by 2010 the number of tourist arrivals will exceed 1 billion people, and by 2020 this figure will be 1.6 billion. World tourism revenues will increase to $2 trillion.
It should be noted that international tourism in the world is distributed extremely unevenly due to differences in the levels of socio-economic development of individual countries and regions. Industrialized countries account for 70-75% of all international travel in the world, while the countries of the European Union account for about 40% of tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings.
World experience shows that the importance of tourism for the development of the country's economy is great. Firstly, outbound tourism creates conditions for expanding the production of goods and services as a result of increases in effective demand at the expense of foreign buyers. Thus, foreign tourists buy a significant part of some goods: in France - clothes and cosmetics, in Italy - shoes, in Switzerland - watches. Secondly, tourism helps create additional jobs in the non-production sector. Thirdly, tourism helps to increase business activity, exchange of information and scientific knowledge.
The tourism industry as a whole is quite capital intensive. At the same time, in large tourist centers, 50-60% of the cost structure consists of accommodation and food costs. Although investments in the tourism industry are among the most promising, due to the high capital and labor intensity, as well as the seasonality of the industry, capital is quite selective in the tourism sector. In developed countries, part of the costs associated with the construction of the road network, the equipment of recreation areas, the organization of exhibition centers, etc., is usually financed by the state, and private capital finances the construction and operation of enterprises serving tourists.
The international tourism market is characterized by qualitative differences service companies of the same class, which implies high price elasticity depending on the relationship between supply and demand. The price of tourism services acts not only as a regulator of the balance of supply and demand, but also as an active lever of influence on the production of the tourism product: increasing prices stimulates the construction of well-equipped tourist facilities and improving the quality of service.
In recent years, individual tourism activity has become a primary factor influencing the development of tourism. So, at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. approximately half of tourists from countries with developed economies preferred to organize their trips themselves, the rest partially or fully used the services of companies. A distinctive feature of tourism is its seasonality, which leads to periodic idleness of the material base and labor force and at the same time requires resources to maintain them. In addition, the tourism business environment is changeable and is significantly influenced by natural disasters, transport accidents, terrorist attacks, wars, etc. The tourism product sales system includes a sales network consisting of wholesale companies (tour operators) and various companies (travel agents) covering all segments tourist market.
In the tourism industry, a process of capital concentration can be traced, leading to the formation of monopolies. For example, in the UK, the process of merging a significant number of travel agencies into large national tour operator groups began more than ten years ago and currently there is a high degree of concentration of tourism business there (approximately ¾ of UK tourist trips sold are accounted for by five tour operator groups).
New forms of sales are becoming increasingly widespread, which is associated with the introduction of organizations and enterprises from related sectors of the economy into the tourism business. Hotel and restaurant associations, trading houses, department stores, publishing houses and other enterprises that have already acquired a reputation, have their own clientele and an established sales network have begun to sell tourism services. For example, in 1990, a company with cheap charter trips, Larsen-Reiser, entered the Danish tourism market. Its director is the owner of shops selling bed linen. The company's 73 stores offered 112 thousand charter trips to Spain and Turkey. In recent years, there has been an increasing trend towards specialization of firms and internationalization of sales. Having gained a foothold in national markets, tour operators open branches in other countries. Thus, Tiereborg (Denmark) has branches in the UK and Germany, and Hotel Plan (Switzerland) has branches in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and other countries.
World information market
The modern scientific and technological revolution has radically changed the meaning of information in social production. According to many experts, the economic role of the state in the world is now determined not by the number of machines, equipment, steel, etc. produced, but by the volume of information and knowledge used.
Currently, the activities of any company are unthinkable without widespread study and use of various types information. Information influences the growth of labor productivity, application the latest technology and production technologies, design and construction timeframes, quality of goods and services.
It should be noted that the growth rate of computer science in recent years has significantly exceeded the growth rate of such basic economic indicators as GDP, industrial production and foreign trade. It develops especially quickly software, which is the basis of new technology in information systems.
The global market for information services began to be created at a rapid pace in the late 80s, which was associated with the deterioration of the economic situation, intensified competition, and the complication of the management structure of companies and production in general. The table shows that all structural elements of the services market are developing at a high pace, but software-related services are growing especially rapidly.
IN information market includes economic, legal, medical, scientific and other information for specialists and the mass consumer.
The owners of information are research organizations and institutes, publishing organizations with powerful financial and technical base. They collect, process, store and transmit information on a commercial basis to intermediaries and users. In this regard, the most difficult issue for owners is the choice of equipment and methods for processing, storing and retrieving data.
Table 1
Related information.
Features and specifics of organizing international trade in services
Trade in goods and services along with some other items are included in the current account of the balance of payments of any country. Negotiations on the liberalization of trade in services are being conducted in parallel with negotiations on the liberalization of trade in goods. However, there are serious qualitative differences between goods and services, as well as in the organization and technology of international trade in them. Table 13 presents the main indicators that distinguish goods from services.
Table 13
Differences between goods and services
It is precisely because of the intangibility and invisibility of most services that trade in them is sometimes called invisible exports and imports. Unlike goods, the production of services is often combined with their export under a single contract and requires a direct meeting between the seller and the buyer. However, in this case there are numerous exceptions. For example, some services are quite tangible (a printed report from a consultant or a computer program on a floppy disk), quite visible (a model's haircut or a theatrical performance), can be stored (telephone answering service) and do not always require direct interaction between the buyer and the seller (automatic withdrawal of money from a bank by debit card).
International trade in services compared to trade in goods has the following features:
· regulated not at the border, but within the country by the relevant provisions of domestic legislation . The absence or presence of the fact that a service crosses the border cannot be a criterion for the export of a service (as well as the currency in which this service is paid for);
· services cannot be stored . They are produced and consumed at the same time. Therefore, most types of services are based on direct contracts between their producers and consumers;
· production and sale of services have greater state protection than the sphere of material production and trade . Transport, communications, financial and insurance services, science, education, healthcare in many countries are fully or partially owned by the state or under its strict control;
· International trade in services is closely related to and has a strong impact on trade in goods . For example, the impact of the service sector on trade in knowledge-intensive goods, which requires large volumes of technical services, information and various consulting services, is great;
· Not all types of services, unlike goods, can be traded . Services that come primarily for personal consumption cannot be involved in international economic turnover.
The key to trade in services is that in most cases there must be physical contact between the buyer and seller of the service at some point. Only in this case the international purchase and sale of services will take place. Exists several mechanisms for making transactions on international trade in services:
· Buyer mobility . Buyers of services who are residents of one country come to the seller of services who are residents of another country. Buyer mobility is usually based on the fact that abroad he will be able to obtain a service that is either not available in his country (tourism) or the quality of which is higher (education, medical care), or its cost is lower (warehousing of goods, ship repairs).
· Seller mobility . The seller of services, who is a resident of one country, comes to the buyer of services, who is a resident of another country. The mobility of the seller is usually based either on the fact that its recipient is located abroad and cannot move to the seller (audit and accounting services for enterprises), or on the specific nature of the service itself (construction).
· Simultaneous mobility of seller and buyer or the mobile nature of the service itself. Both the seller and the buyer either simultaneously share the service (international telephone conversation), or gather in a third country (international conference), or the seller provides the buyer with a service through a representative office in a third country (sending foreign specialists from the Moscow office of the World Bank to the CIS countries to provide technical assistance).
International statistics indicate that trade in services is one of the fastest growing sectors of the world economy.
The reasons for this growth are very diverse. The sharp decline in transport costs has increased the degree of mobility of producers and consumers of services; new forms and means of satellite communications and video technology in some cases make it possible to completely abandon personal contact between the seller and the buyer. The technological process has made it possible to increase the demand for those services that previously had a commodity form. This applies to financial services, banking services, and insurance companies.
There are certain difficulties in statistically recording the volume of services provided. The difficulty of calculation is due to the fact that, as a rule, services are provided complete with goods. Moreover, the cost of the service often accounts for a significant portion of the price of the product. Often services appear in intra-company exchanges. In this case, it is often impossible to express and determine their value, since there is no market for these types of services at all. In some cases, separating the service from the product is impossible (for example, treating a patient with medications).
Income from banking and insurance operations “drops out” from the statistical report if they are reinvested in the same country in which they were received.
In this regard, according to a number of scientists, official balance of payments statistics, which indicate the annual turnover under the “services” item, cannot give an accurate idea of the scale of international trade in services, the value of which, according to a number of experts, turns out to be underestimated
by 40–50%.
The geographical distribution of trade in services provided by individual countries is extremely uneven in favor of developed countries.
The global services market is currently dominated by eight leading countries, accounting for more than 50% of service exports and imports. The share of the top five is about 40% of exports. At the same time, four countries: the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France account for more than 35% of all world exports of services.
Developing countries are characterized by the presence negative balance in foreign trade in services, while some of them are large exporters of services. For example, the Republic of Korea specializes in engineering, consulting and construction services, Mexico – in tourism, Singapore is a large financial center. Many small island states derive the bulk of their export income from tourism.
As for Russia, other CIS states and the Baltic countries, although they have potential reserves for the development of tourism and transport services (they organize sea transportation), their widespread export is hampered by the weak material resources as well as the shortcomings of the economic mechanism. For their part, Western European countries high quality complement their services with the use of wide range restrictions on the use of foreign services, including those from the CIS countries.
If we talk about the distribution of the cost of services by certain species, then tourism and transport are of greatest importance in world trade in services. The world's largest merchant fleet belongs to Japan, followed by Great Britain, Germany and Norway. Shipping accounts for 50% of this country's service exports. The market for freight and passenger transport services is dominated by the USA, followed by the UK and France. They also hold the palm in the field of foreign tourism. A large volume of tourism services is provided by France, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, where tourism brings 40–50% of export revenue.
For Turkey, Spain and a number of Mediterranean countries great value has the export of labor in the form of unskilled workers leaving to earn money.
