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Find MFAT's information paper on a country or territory. (We don't have information papers on all countries.)
Although we have tried to use plain English content on the site, you may come across specialist terms and acronyms. Find out what they mean in our glossary of terms.
If you come across a term that isn't included in the Glossary please send us an email.
Services are often described as things you can buy or sell but can’t carry (or drop on your foot!). They include a wide and diverse range of economic activities, from professional services, such as legal, accountancy, engineering, and medical services, to communication services, such as postal and telecommunications services, through to financial, education, tourism and transport services.
Some examples of trade in services: a New Zealand geothermal energy consultant advising on a project in Indonesia, a German tour group arriving for a farm-stay holiday in New Zealand, and a foreign student coming to study at a New Zealand university.
The ongoing services negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are critical to New Zealand because our services exporters need access to international markets and fair and equitable treatment once there. The WTO estimates that 50% of world trade will be in the form of services trade by 2020.
For a more detailed description of trade in services and the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) go to the background paper on trade in services.
For more background on services negotiations, please see the New Zealand and the WTO Services document archive.
