At the Trade in Services for Development (TS4D) Conference on 03 and 04 December 2025, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat and the World Bank launched new analytical and capacity-building tools to help developing economies harness the potential of services trade to drive economic growth. The new tools, accessible through an online platform unveiled at the conference, include a services trade competitiveness dashboard to help policymakers assess their economy’s performance and the “Handbook on Good Regulatory Practices”, which includes a diagnostic and planning tool for regulatory reform.
The TS4D platform serves as a one-stop shop for policymakers and the public to access information on the WTO-World Bank joint initiative and its workstreams.
A counsellor at the WTO presented the platform on behalf of the WTO Secretariat and the World Bank. The counsellor introduced one of the platform’s key features, the Trade in Services Competitiveness Dashboard, an interactive application designed to help policymakers assess their economies’ services performance, benchmark it against peers, and facilitate strategy development and policy prioritisation in services trade.
The counsellor said: “The purpose of the platform is to provide access to different capacity-building tools developed under the umbrella of the Trade in Services for Development initiative and to facilitate information sharing between international organisations on support and capacity-building initiatives related to services trade.” On the dashboard, the counsellor added: “This tool will make it easier for policymakers to assess their economy’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and gaps on services trade, paving the way for priority-setting and the development of national strategies.“
The manager of the Trade Policy and Facilitation Unit at the World Bank highlighted two main benefits of the dashboard. The manager said: “The first is that bringing together all this data reveals the strength and richness of the services sector. Services trade provides scope for diversification, which is very important amid concerns about overdependence. The second is the integration of all this information. There is no Ministry of Services Trade or Ministry of Services in any country, and this tool provides a comprehensive picture that enables informed choices.”
The manager added that the World Bank had begun working with governments in regions such as the Middle East, North Africa and East Asia to implement the tools. The Bank is also strengthening cooperation with the private sector to further advance these efforts.
The two organisations also introduced the WTO-World Bank “Handbook on Good Regulatory Practices to Facilitate Trade in Services”. The handbook explains how good regulatory practices (GRPs) can support services trade, providing case studies, practical guidance and tools to help governments benchmark domestic regimes against core GRPs and prepare for reforms. The aim is to make regulatory environments more transparent, efficient and predictable, which is essential for attracting investment and enabling services trade.
Additionally, the platform provides information on an ongoing multi-agency project to identify best practices for export promotion strategies in services in developing countries. This effort, supported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, features a series of country case studies.
The portal also provides information on other TS4D workstreams relating to services trade statistics and policy data, including the joint World Bank-WTO Services Trade Policy Database (STPD) and the Services Trade Restrictions Index (STRI).
Watch the launch session and other conference sessions on the webpage at:
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/serv_2511202510_e/serv_2511202510_e.htm
More
On the sidelines of the 03 to 04 December 2025 Conference, a training programme for a selected group of senior trade officials from developing economies took place at the WTO as part of the TS4D initiative’s capacity-building efforts.