InitThe service sector comprises 80 percent of U.S. employment and 64 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to a University of Michigan study, a one-third cut in global barriers to trade in services would increase U.S. annual income by $150 billion ($2,100 per American family of four). Total elimination of barriers in services would raise U.S. annual income gain by over $450 billion ($6,380 per family of four).

Trade in services also benefits developing countries greatly. The infrastructure of modern and growing economies and the gains made from liberalizing trade in services and agriculture is enhanced with open service sectors. The benefits of a modern services sector reverberates across an entire economy, touching every product, idea and consumer. Modernizing services can help developing countries jump start the economic growth necessary for reducing poverty. The service sector is the fastest growing part of the economy in many developing countries, with the World Bank reporting that services account for 54 percent of their GDP.