diverse pattern of specialization and has moved over time from apparel and textiles to electronics, machinery and equipment. A concern with gross trade data flows is that they do not provide a sufficiently clear picture about the precise role of a country in the value chain for the product. It is, for instance, possible that a country like Vietnam may just assemble sophisticated products. We return to this issue below.

Table 1. Specialization within manufacturing: three industries with the largest shares in total manufacturing exports, 2000 and 2015.

|ISO3<br>code|Country|Year|1st ISIC Rev. 3 industry|Share (%)|2nd ISIC Rev. 3 industry|Share (%)|3rd ISIC Rev. 3 industry|Share (%)|Sum of share|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|CHN|China|2000|18_APPAREL|12|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|11|17_TEXTILES|10|34|
|||2015|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|19|29_MACHINERY&EQUIPMENT|9|30_OFFICE, ACCOUNTING & COMPUTING EQUIP.|8|36|
|IDN|Indonesia|2000|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|10|18_APPAREL|9|17_TEXTILES|9|28|
|||2015|15_FOOD & BEVERAGES|25|24_CHEMICALS|10|27_BASIC METALS|7|42|
|KHM|Cambodia|2000|18_APPAREL|47|17_TEXTILES|25|22_PUBLISHING & PRINTING|20|91|
|||2015|18_APPAREL|52|17_TEXTILES|23|19_LEATHER|9|84|
|LAO|Lao PDR|2000||||||||
|||2015|27_BASIC METALS|36|15_FOOD & BEVERAGES|15|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|15|66|
|MMR|Myanmar|2000||||||||
|||2015|15_FOOD & BEVERAGES|35|18_APPAREL|31|27_BASIC METALS|14|80|
|MNG|Mongolia|2000|17_TEXTILES|28|18_APPAREL|26|27_BASIC METALS|26|80|
|||2015|27_BASIC METALS|77|17_TEXTILES|11|19_LEATHER|5|93|
|MYS|Malaysia|2000|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|39|30_OFFICE, ACCOUNTING & COMPUTING EQUIP.|23|15_FOOD & BEVERAGES|5|67|
|||2015|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|27|15_FOOD & BEVERAGES|11|24_CHEMICALS|10|48|
|PHL|Philippines|2000|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|52|30_OFFICE, ACCOUNTING & COMPUTING EQUIP.|19|18_APPAREL|6|78|
|||2015|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|36|30_OFFICE, ACCOUNTING & COMPUTING EQUIP.|13|31_ELECTRICAL MACHINERY|11|60|
|THA|Thailand|2000|32_RADIO, TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|18|15_FOOD & BEVERAGES|15|30_OFFICE, ACCOUNTING & COMPUTING EQUIP.|14|46|
|||2015|34_MOTOR VEHICLES|13|15_FOOD & BEVERAGES|13|24_CHEMICALS|10|37|
|VNM|Vietnam|2000|15_FOOD & BEVERAGES|27|18_APPAREL|19|19_LEATHER|19|65|
|||2015|32_RADIO,TV & COMMUNICATION EQUIP.|27|18_APPAREL|12|19_LEATHER|11|50|

Sources: UN Comtrade (WITS)

# **ii. Services trade**

Services represent a relatively small share of trade and of GDP for East Asian developing countries. With the notable exception of the Philippines, the shares of services in total exports and in GDP are low for most East Asian developing countries relative to other EAP economies and the average country in the world (Figure 4a). The gap is even more striking when we exclude “travel” or tourism from services (Figure 4b). Services value added as a share of GDP is lower than that in other countries in the East Asia Pacific region and the average country in the world, despite progress over time (Figure 4c). These findings point to the untapped potential of services – especially other than tourism ‐ in developing East Asian economies.

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