Covid, Brexit and other trade barriers made the global regulatory environment for services trade more restrictive last year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report says new trade barriers last year compounded the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, affecting a wide range of services from IT and commercial banking to broadcasting. Global services trade fell by nearly a quarter (24 per cent) in the third quarter of last year, compared to a year earlier. Artificial intelligence services are the cutting edge of trade, Üngör says. The OECD report found that across all countries, trade restrictions increased the most in computer services, broadcasting and commercial banking.

Source: Stuff February 11, 2021 00:06 UTC