ICT-Enabled Services Trade in the European Union

Office of the Chief Economist ♦♦ Economics and Statistics Administration ♦♦ Page 1

Executive Summary

In the past, as with goods, the provision of a service either 

required the physical delivery of information via traditional 

shipping options or required travel by the purchaser or provider. 

Now, businesses and consumers are increasingly using the Internet

to purchase services. While most commodities must still be 

physically delivered, there are a number of services that can be 

delivered almost instantaneously online at a relatively small cost, 

not only domestically but across the globe. 

This report, which adds to prior work in the Office of the Chief Economist 

and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, provides estimates of international 

services trade in the European Union (EU) that has the potential to be 

delivered remotely over information and communication technology (ICT) 

networks—or that are potentially ICT-enabled services. These estimates 

of ICT-enabled trade underscore the importance these new forms of 

cross-border services may have to countries across the European Union

and are important for understanding how restrictions on the flow of data 

across borders may impact countries’ economies. It finds that in 2014:

• The 28 EU member states collectively exported $1.2 trillion and 

imported $935.1 billion in ICT-enabled services, to countries both inside 

of and outside of the EU. 

• Excluding intra-EU trade, EU member states exported $569.6 billion and 

imported $418.0 billion in ICT-enabled services, resulting in a surplus of 

$151.6 billion for these services. ICT-enabled services trade represented 

56 percent of all services exports to non-EU countries and 52 percent of 

all services imports from non-EU countries. 

• The largest shares of all EU ICT-enabled services exports and imports, 

and in trade of these services with non-EU countries, were in “selected 

other business services” which includes: research and development 

services (R&D); professional, management, and consulting services; 

architectural, engineering, scientific and other technical services; and 

other business services not included elsewhere. 

 

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

Office of the Chief Economist

ICT-Enabled Services Trade in the 

European Union

By

Jessica R. Nicholson

ESA Issue Brief

#03-16

August 31, 2016
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• The EU member states with the largest estimated value of ICT-enabled services exports were 

the United Kingdom (UK) ($159.0 billion), Germany ($149.2 billion), France ($128.0 billion), and 

the Netherlands ($115.3 billion).

• Some member states, like the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden transmitted more than half of 

their ICT-enabled services exports to destinations outside of the EU. Other member states, like 

Poland, Austria, and Belgium, were more likely to export to other EU member states. 

• The largest non-EU consumer of EU ICT-enabled services exports was the United States, which 

purchased 16 percent, or $179.9 billion, of total EU exports of these services.

1

• The United States exported approximately $147.6 billion in ICT-enabled services to EU member 

states.

Introduction

In the past, as with goods, the provision of a service either required the physical delivery of 

information via traditional shipping options or required travel by the purchaser or provider. 

Now, while many goods can be purchased via the Internet, most commodities must still be 

physically delivered to a customer. At the same time, businesses and consumers are increasingly 

using the Internet to purchase services and there are a number of services that can be delivered 

almost instantaneously online at a relatively small cost, not only domestically but across the 

globe. 

Measuring the magnitudes of the trade in these “ICT-enabled services” presents many 

challenges.2 However, trade negotiators and other policy makers need to understand the 

importance of trade in these services to help make informed decisions about data policy. While 

recent reports by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)3 and the Department of Commerce’s 

(Commerce) Office of the Chief Economist (OCE)4 provided estimates of the importance of 

 

1 This value is calculated using export data compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 

from national statistical agencies of European Union member countries and differs from estimates calculated using import data 

available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. See box on Data Limitations for more information. 2 Recently, Commerce has been working with data users to improve the data available to measure aspects of the digital 

economy, including ICT-enabled services trade. Commerce’s Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) and the National 

Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) researched the available data to measure the economic value of 

cross-border data flows and documented the unmet data needs. See more information on this effort at: 

https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2016/05/commerce-brings-stakeholders-together-improve-digital-economy-metrics. 3 Grimm, A. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). (2016). Trends in U.S. Trade in Information and Communications Technology 

(ICT) Services and in ICT-Enabled Services. Survey of Current Business. Retrieved from 

http://bea.gov/scb/pdf/2016/05%20May/0516_trends_%20in_us_trade_in_ict_serivces2.pdf. (Last accessed July 13, 2016). See 

Appendix to see how estimates of ICT-enabled services trade differ when using the OECD services classification system versus 

the BEA services classification system. 

4 See Nicholson, J. & Noonan, R. Office of the Chief Economist, Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA), U.S. Department 

of Commerce. (2014). Digital Economy and Cross-Border Trade: The Value of Digitally-Deliverable Services. Retrieved from 

http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/digitaleconomyandtrade2014-1-27final.pdf. p. 1. (Last accessed July 13, 2016) and 

Noonan, R. Office of the Chief Economist, Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA), U.S. Department of Commerce. (2015, 
ICT-Enabled Services Trade in the European Union

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foreign trade in these services for the United States, this report reviews the definition of ICTenabled services and presents estimates of the value of ICT-enabled services trade for the 28 

nations that comprise the European Union (EU), as well as for the United States, using data 

compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).5 (see box: 

“Data Limitations” for more information). It also provides a detailed look at EU ICT-enabled 

services exports by country of origin and by service category, as well as a comparison with the 

United States’ ICT-enabled services exports. This is followed by a short overview of ICT-enabled 

services imports into the EU.

In 2014, the European Union (EU) exported $1.2 trillion in ICT-enabled services, out of total 

services exports of $2.2 trillion—an increase in ICT-enabled services exports of 36 percent from 

2010, the first year for which comparable data is available from the OECD. This includes exports 

to other EU member states as well as non-EU countries. In the same year, EU countries imported 

$935.1 billion of these services. Excluding trade between EU member states, EU ICT-enabled 

services exports totaled $569.6 billion and imports totaled $418.0 billion, resulting in a net 

surplus of $151.6 billion. The available data show that the UK had the highest value of ICTenabled exports in 2014, primarily due to exports of financial services. The United States was a 

large consumer of EU ICT-enabled services exports, purchasing 16 of the EU’s total exports of 

these services that year. 

 

May 28). Digitally Deliverable Services Remain an Important Component of U.S. Trade. Retrieved from 

http://esa.doc.gov/economic-briefings/digitally-deliverable-services-remain-important-component-us-trade. (Last accessed July 

13, 2016)

5 Specifically, estimates in this report are based on the OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services: Volume II - Detailed 

Tables by Partner Country (Complete Edition - ISBN 9264013849). The data can be accessed online from http://stats.oecd.org/. 

To navigate to the data, click on “International Trade and Balance of Payments” from the menu panel on the left. Then select 

“Trade in Services,” then “Trade in services by partner country,” and then “EBOPS 2010.” Data are collected by national 

statistical organizations and compiled by the OECD.

Box: Data Limitations

The data used in this report is compiled by the OECD from national statistical agencies of EU 

member states and, for U.S. data, from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). By definition, 

country A’s reported exports to country B should equal country B’s reported imports from country 

A. However, in practice, this data generally does not match and the differences between the 

reported values can be substantial. 

Both the OECD and BEA have noted that collecting data on services imports is challenging. 

Generally, firms that produce and export services are easy to identify and therefore, it is relatively 

easily to collect data on their exports. On the other hand, potentially all firms can import services, 

so the firms that should be surveyed are harder to identify. In addition, they may underreport their 

purchase of international services because they forget to report them, do not track them in a way 
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Box: Data Limitations (continued)

that makes them easy to report, or do not realize that they are purchasing the services from overseas. 

For these reasons, services exports reported by country A to country B may be larger than the 

corresponding services imports reported by country B from country A. Additionally, each country 

collects trade data using its own methodology and survey forms. This causes measurement 

discrepancies as well and presents challenges in analyzing bilateral trade data. For example, EU 

exports to other EU member states should equal EU imports from other EU member states; in other 

words, intra-EU trade should net to zero. However, this is not the case. Using the OECD data, EU 

member states are found to have reported ICT-enabled services exports to other EU countries totaling

$583.9 billion but imports totaling $517.1 billion—a difference of $66.7 billion. This measurement 

discrepancy is shown in the figure below. For this reason, this report only reports net surpluses or 

deficits for EU member states trade with countries outside of the EU. 

On the other hand, when comparing Table 2 and Figure 6 of this report, in Table 2 it can be seen that 

U.S. exports of ICT-enabled services to the EU were reported to be $147.6 billion, which is smaller than 

the EU’s reported imports of $167.6 billion of these services (Figure 6). It is important to keep these 

limitations in mind when comparing the services exports or imports of two or more countries. 
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Potentially ICT-Enabled Services

As defined by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), "potentially 

ICT-enabled services" are services that can be "delivered remotely over ICT networks."6 These 

"include activities that can be specified, performed, delivered, evaluated and consumed 

electronically." The estimates of the value of the trade in ICT-enabled services previously 

published by the BEA and OCE use this definition and this report follows the same. However, 

since these are estimates of potentially ICT-enabled services trade, they represent an upper 

bound of the total amount of these services that are actually provided via ICT networks.

7

The value of EU ICT-enabled services trade can be calculated using the UNCTAD definition and the OECD 

data on trade in services based on the 2010 extended balance of payments services (EBOPS) 

classification. Again, this methodology classifies services trade by type of service and not mode of 

delivery (See Table 1).

8

ICT-Enabled Services Trade in the European Union

The 28 member states in the EU in 20149 exported $1.2 trillion in ICT-enabled services, 52 

percent of all EU services exports that year. (See Figure 1). EU exports of ICT-enabled services 

increased every year from 2010, the earliest year with comparable data, to 2014, growing 36 

percent over this period. In the same year, EU countries imported $935.1 billion in ICT-enabled 

services, accounting for 49 percent of all services imports. 

 

6 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 2015, October. International Trade in ICT Services and ICTEnabled Services, Proposed Indicators from the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development. Technical Note No. 3 unedited. 

TN/UNCTAD/ICT4D/03. Retrieved from http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/tn_unctad_ict4d03_en.pdf. (last accessed July 

12, 2016)

7

The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) General Agreement on Services Trade (GATS) defines four modes of supply for 

international services. ICT-enabled services trade is included in mode 1, cross-border supply, which covers service flows from 

the territory of one country into the territory of another country (e.g., banking or architectural services transmitted via 

telecommunications or mail). However, not all mode 1 services are delivered digitally and the method of delivery is not 

captured by most countries’ trade statistics. Therefore, it is not possible to distinguish between cross-border services that were 

delivered electronically and those that were not. See World Trade Organization at 

https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/gatsqa_e.htm and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). U.S. International 

Economic Accounts. Chapter 14: Modes of Supply for International Services. Retrieved from 

http://www.bea.gov/international/pdf/concepts-methods/14%20Chapter%20ITA-Methods.pdf. (Last accessed July 13, 2016). 8 For a full detailed listing of the EBOPS 2010 classification, see: http://www.oecd.org/std/its/EBOPS-2010.pdf. Some services 

within the omitted categories may be ICT-enabled, but it is not possible to disaggregate the services data beyond the categories 

listed in the text of this report and Table. 1. The Appendix to this report shows estimates of U.S. ICT-enabled services exports 

vary depending on which services classification is used. The services included in the ICT-enabled services trade estimates 

presented in this report are similar to those used by Grimm, 2016, page 7, box on “Worldwide Trends in ICT-Enabled Trade in 

Service.” The exception is that the ICT-enabled services estimates presented in this report also include audiovisual and related 

services and education services categorized under “selected personal, cultural, and recreational services. 9 These 28 member states are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, 

Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, 

Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. On June 23, 2016, the UK held a referendum in which 52 percent of 

voters decided that the UK will leave the EU. For now, it is unclear exactly when they will officially withdraw from the EU. For 

more information, see: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887. 
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ICT-Enabled Services Trade in the European Union

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Excluding intra-EU trade, EU member states 

exported $569.6 billion in ICT-enabled 

services and imported $418.0 billion in 

these services, resulting in a net surplus of 

$151.6 billion. ICT-enabled services trade is 

important for the EU economy not only 

because of its volume, but also because of 

the resulting trade surplus. Looking at only 

external trade, the EU ran a trade surplus in 

most of these services categories in 2014. 

The exceptions were charges for the use of 

intellectual property products (IP) n.i.e. and 

selected personal, cultural, and 

recreational services. (See Figure 2).

The remainder of this report takes a more 

detailed look at EU ICT-enabled services 

exports by service type and also by 

destination. A brief look at imports is also 

included.
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Exports

Of the estimated $1.2 trillion in ICT-enabled services exports from EU member states in 2014, just 

over half stayed within the EU. The remaining $569.6 billion were transmitted all over the world 

(See Figure 3). Outside of the EU, the United States was the largest purchaser of ICT-enabled 

services from EU member states; based on the OECD data, $179.9 billion of EU exports in these 

services went to the United States in 2014. Only $141.7 billion, or 12 percent of all EU ICTenabled services exports, were exported to European countries that are not part of the EU. Asia 

and Oceania (including the Middle East) purchased $138.8 billion of EU ICT-enabled services 

exports that year.

Figure 4 shows EU ICT-enabled services exports for 2014 by category—led by, with a fairly large 

margin, selected other business services—and by whether they remained in the EU or went to 

the rest of the world. The share of ICT-enabled services that are estimated to have left the EU 

ranged from 41 percent for selected personal, cultural, and recreational services to 65 percent 

for charges for the use of IP n.i.e.

As can also be seen in Figure 4, even after excluding the services that are exported to other EU 

member states, EU exports of selected other business services, at $223.0 billion in 2014, were 

substantial. 
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Because the value of exports of selected other business services is so large, it is worth taking a 

look at the services that comprise that category. Within this group, exports of other business 

services n.i.e. accounted for the largest share at 26 percent, or $114.1 billion; this total includes 

services that were exported to other EU member states and non-EU countries (see Figure 5; the 

exports outside of the EU are shown in blue). Business and management consulting and public 

relations services accounted for another 23 percent, or $101.0 billion. Architectural, engineering, 

scientific and other technical services made up 18 percent, and R&D services accounted for 16 

percent. The OECD data shows that the United States was the biggest non-EU purchaser of these 

other business services. In 2014, the U.S. received 16 percent of total EU exports of these 

services. 
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Recall that the United 

States was a relatively 

large consumer of all of 

the ICT-enabled business

services exports to nonEU countries, purchasing 

32 percent of these 

services in 2014. The 

United States purchased

a relatively high share of 

R&D services ($19.6 

billion, or 47 percent).

Switzerland was the 

other big non-EU 

consumer of EU business 

services exports in 2014. 

Of the services exported 

to countries outside of 

the EU, Switzerland 

purchased 36 percent of 

all the advertising, 

market research, and 

public opinion polling 

services, 31 percent of 

all business and 

management consulting and public relations services, and 29 percent of all accounting, auditing, 

bookkeeping, and tax consulting services. Gulf Arabian countries in the Middle East purchased 15 

percent of architectural, engineering, scientific and other technical services that the EU exported

to non-EU countries, well above the overall average value of external EU ICT-enabled services 

exports to that destination (4 percent).

While it is valuable to know the total value of ICT-enabled services exports leaving the EU, and 

the destinations of these exports, it is also valuable to know from which member states they are 

originating. The value of ICT-enabled services exports can also be calculated for many, though not 

all, of the 28 EU member countries.10 Table 2 displays the ICT-enabled services exports for the 12 

largest economies in the EU.11 In 2014, four EU member states had estimated exports of ICTenabled services totaling over $100 billion; the United Kingdom (UK) exported $159.0 billion in 

 

10 For some countries, certain data are suppressed to maintain confidentiality. Therefore, it is not always possible to get an 

accurate measure of trade in ICT-enabled services. For example, as shown in Table 1, only certain categories within “other 

business services” and “personal, cultural, and recreational services” should be counted as ICT-enabled export or imports. 

However, several member states are missing data on some of the services in these categories that designated as ICT-enabled. If 

the entire categories of “other business services” or “personal, cultural, and recreational services” were included as an 

alternative, that would create an upward bias in the overall estimate. To be conservative, the estimates in Table 2 are based on 

available data and note any missing data in footnotes. 

11 Size of EU member states are based on value of 2015 GDP, measured in current USD, from the World Bank’s World 

Development Indicators database available at: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators. 
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ICT-enabled services, followed by Germany ($149.2 billion), France ($128.0 billion), and the 

Netherlands ($115.3 billion).

Table 2 also shows the ICT-enabled services exports by services category, for those categories 

with available data, and by destination. While selected other business services, 

telecommunications, computer and information services, and financial services were overall the 

three largest exports categories for the EU in 2014, various member states relied on exports 

across the six ICT-enabled services categories to different degrees. 

For example, the UK exported the highest value of financial services ($81.0 billion), by far, of any 

other member state. Financial services exports were less important to Poland, where exports in 

this category accounted for only 5 percent of ICT-enabled services exports. Although insurance 

and pension services was one of the smaller export categories for the EU overall in 2014, these 

services were important exports for the UK and Ireland, which exported $33.1 billion and $12.3 

billion in these services, respectively. 
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In contrast to the EU, the highest value of ICT-enabled services exports for the United States 

was in charges for the use of IP n.i.e., accounting for 34 percent of all U.S. ICT-enabled services 

exports in 2014. However, there were several EU member states that also exported a high 

share of their ICT-enabled services from this category including Sweden (19 percent), the 

Netherlands (17 percent), and Denmark (17 percent). All member states had relatively robust

export flows relative to other ICT-enabled services categories in telecommunications, 

computer, and information services and in selected other business services.
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In addition, some member states are more likely to export ICT-enabled services outside of the EU 

than others. As the third section of Table 2 shows (“To destinations outside of the EU”), almost 

two-thirds of the UK’s estimated ICT-enabled services exports left the EU, including 88 percent of 

the exports in insurance and pension services. In Austria, only 32 percent of ICT-enabled services

exports were purchased by non-EU countries. 

The last section of Table 2 shows the shares of ICT-enabled services exports of selected EU 

member states to the United States by category.12 For Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany, 

15 percent or more of the ICT-enabled services exports were purchased by the United States. 

Imports 

In 2014, the EU imported $935.1 billion in ICT-enabled services, 49 percent of all EU services 

imports that year. More than half of the ICT-enabled services imports, 55 percent, originated 

from other EU member states. (See Figure 6). Another 25 percent of the services, or $232.8 

billion, originated in the Americas, with 18 percent coming from the United States. Switzerland 

was the second largest non-EU provider of ICT-enabled imports to the EU, contributing 6 

percent, or $51.6 billion of the imports of these services in 2014. 

By service type, as shown in Figure 7, the share of EU ICT-enabled services imports that 

originated from non-EU member states in 2014 ranged from 40 percent for insurance and 

pension services ($17.4 billion out of $43.7 billion) and financial services ($50.5 billion out of 

$126.4 billion) to 57 percent for charges for the use of IP n.i.e. ($90.7 billion out of $159.7 

 

12 Estimates are shown only for countries with sufficient data.
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billion). Of the $90.7 billion of charges for the use of IP n.i.e. from non-EU countries, the United 

States supplied 41 percent, or $37.0 billion. The United States also supplied a relatively large 

share of the $223.0 billion of selected other business services originating outside of the EU (32

percent, or $71.3 billion). 

Conclusion

As technological advances continue to redefine how we consume and produce services, the 

economic statistics used to measure international trade particularly with respect to ICT-enabled 

services will need to be enhanced. As noted above, the best available official statistics measure 

services that are potentially traded digitally, rather than those services that are actually 

delivered digitally. Efforts are underway both at the Department of Commerce and worldwide 

to improve the availability of data that can help government statistical agencies and other 

researchers accurately measure actual ICT-enabled trade as well as other types of cross-border 

digital data flows.
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Acknowledgments 

The author would like to thank the following persons who provided comments, 

suggestions, and other contributions to this report:

Economics and Statistics Administration: Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Rob Rubinovitz, 

David Langdon, Sabrina Montes, Ryan Noonan, William Hawk, Gethin Wade.

Bureau of Economic Analysis: Dan Yorgason, Kristy Howell

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development: Fabienne Fortanier

Any errors in the report are solely the author’s responsibility. 
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Appendix – A Comparison of ICT-Enabled Services 

Definitions 

A May 2016 BEA report estimated U.S. exports of potentially ICT-enabled services at $385.1 

billion in 2014.13 Above, this report estimates that the United States exported $378.5 billion of 

ICT-enabled services that year, a difference of $6.6 billion. Even though BEA supplies the OECD 

with the data on U.S. international services trade, estimates of ICT-enabled services exports 

using data available from the two organizations do not match because the BEA and OECD 

classify services trade differently. The OECD uses the 2010 Extended Balance of Payments 

Services (EBOPS) classification, while the BEA uses a similar, but unique services classification 

system.14

Table A1 shows the services included in the ICT-enabled services estimates using the EBOPS 

2010 classification and BEA’s international trade in services classification. For many of the 

categories, the EBOPS services directly match the BEA services.

 

13 Grimm, 2016. 

14 BEA data on international services is available at: http://www.bea.gov/iTable/index_ita.cfm.
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However, the other business services category differs between the EBOPS classification and the 

BEA classification. Unlike the EBOPS classification, the BEA classification separates out industrial 

engineering and includes it in its definition of ICT-enable services; this represents $4.1 billion of 

exports in 2014. 

Training services as reported by BEA are largely equivalent to EBOPS 2010’s education services 

category. In EBOPS, education services are categorized under other personal, cultural, and 

recreational services along with health services, heritage and recreational services, and other 

personal services. Although the OECD does have data available for education services for many 

countries, there is not data for the United States in this category because the OECD does not 

include BEA’s training services data in their database under this service category. The exclusion 

of industrial engineering and education services using the OECD data fully explains the $6.6 

billion difference between the estimates using the two different classification systems. 

Audiovisual and related services are also included in the definition of ICT-enabled services under the 

EBOPS 2010 classification system. However, because there is not a comparable services category 

available from the BEA, there is no data available from the OECD. This means that this difference in 

definition does not contribute to the difference in the values of the ICT-enabled services exports 

estimates presented here.
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Suggested citation: 

Nicholson, Jessica R. Office of the Chief Economist, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. 

Department of Commerce. (August 17, 2016). ICT-Enabled Services Trade in the European Union (ESA 

Issue Brief # 03-16). Retrieved from http://www.esa.gov/reports/ict-enabled-services-trade-europeanunion. 

U.S. Department of Commerce

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