When is a product a good or a service?The link between goods and services is increasing, as access to services becomes more of a prerequisite for the strong economic performance of many manufactured products. Show
Trade in services covers a wide variety of sectors, such as transport, telecommunications, professional services, financial services, postal and courier services, retail and distribution, environmental services and tourism services. EU trade agreements typically cover trade in services. The EU's objective is to ensure that EU service providers are allowed to supply services in foreign markets and are not discriminated against vis-à-vis national operators or other foreign operators in the same sector. Producers and exporters of goods such as textiles, cars or computers, for example, cannot be competitive without access to efficient banking, insurance or accountancy – or to telecommunications and transport systems. The purchase of many products often involves a service component. Cloud computing allows services such as technical infrastructure, platforms and software to be provided on a global basis. Instead of installing hardware at their customers’ premises, service providers can now offer their services from the cloud remotely – and across borders – demonstrating how services can substitute goods in certain cases.
Why is it relevant?
EU trade policy on goods and servicesThe EU wants to free up global trade in goods and services through WTO negotiations and through bilateral and regional trade agreements. Multilateral and plurilateral negotiations on goods and services:Certain WTO members including the EU have joined the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) which provides duty-free access to IT products, including computers, telephones and inputs and components such as semiconductors.
More information on the ITA and its update On services, the EU is currently participating in two WTO plurilateral negotiations regarding e-commerce and domestic regulation.
Bilateral negotiations on goods and servicesA number of the EU's bilateral trade agreements have significantly liberalised trade in goods. Some also include provisions covering non-tariff barriers and trade in services. For example:
The way forward on goods and servicesThe EU continues to negotiate ambitious provisions to improve access to goods and services markets with several regions and countries including:
The EU also concludes Economic Partnership Agreements with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. More on goods and services
Is the exportation of large quantities of a product at a price lower than that of the same product?If a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own home market, it is said to be “dumping” the product.
Why would foreign firms export a product at less than its cost of production?Why would foreign firms export a product at less than its cost of production—which presumably means making a loss? A. Many nations participate in poor planning and as a result produce a surplus of product which they sell at a loss.
When a country sells its products in a foreign country at a cheaper price than usual and sometimes even at a loss it is dumping products?3. Persistent dumping. When a country consistently sells products at a lower price in the foreign market than the local prices, it is called persistent dumping.
Is the practice of selling a product in foreign countries for a lower price than the good is sold in the producing country?What is dumping? Dumping is, in general, a situation of international price discrimination, where the price of a product when sold in the importing country is less than the price of that product in the market of the exporting country.
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