Focus: Services excluding travel

Application of international trade regulations in measuring services

The Banque de France applies international benchmark methodologies for measuring France’s trade in services.

The general framework for measuring trade in services is set out in the 6th Edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The BPM6 classifies internationally traded services according to several main categories:

Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others (“Goods for processing”)

• Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.
• Transport
• Construction
• Insurance and pension services
• Financial services
• Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 
• Telecommunications, computer and information services
• Other business services
  • Research and development
  • Professional and management consulting services
  • Technical, trade-related and other business services
• Personal, cultural and recreational services
• As a reminder: General government goods and services n.i.e.

Service transactions are recorded in the international accounts at the time the related service is provided.

The principles laid down in BPM6 have been supplemented by the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services (MSITS) published jointly by seven international institutions [the United Nations, Eurostat, the IMF, the OECD, UNCTAD, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Trade Organization]. The MSITS provides a more detailed breakdown of transaction classification by type of service in the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS). It extends the meaning of trade in services to cover services delivered through locally established enterprises. In particular, it meets the information needs set down in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

The Banque de France collects data on trade in business services in accordance with European and national legal frameworks.

Article L. 141-6 of the French Monetary and Financial Code states that the Banque de France is responsible for establishing France’s balance of payments and international investment position [and] contributes to the compilation of the overall external position of the euro area in the framework of its membership of the European System of Central Banks, as well as to the establishment of the statistics of the European Union in the area of balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investments. The Banque de France “has the authority to obtain from […] industrial and commercial corporations any documents and information required to carry out its basic tasks”.

Companies that make the most significant contribution to France’s international trade in services are subject to the general direct reporting procedure.

Statistics on international trade in services (imports and exports)

The Banque de France publishes statistics on French international trade in services on its Webstat interactive statistics portal.

The Eurostat database contains trade in services statistics for European Union member countries.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publishes data on trade in services for its member countries.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) publishes data on trade in services for the broadest set of countries.

Publications dealing with statistics on international trade in services

Analyses carried out on statistics on companies' international trade in services help to provide an understanding of their international activities and expansion.