2.5. Trade in digital products

The manufacture of ICT goods is one of the most globally integrated industries. Finished ICT products are the result of numerous stages of production spread across many countries. A comparison of exports in gross and value added terms by the computer, electronic and optical products industry reveals that China accounted for 35% of global gross exports (USD 500 billion) in 2015, but its domestic value added embodied in foreign final demand (“value added exports”) represented only 25% (USD 150 billion) of the global total. Gross exports are much higher (in USD) as they include value added coming from many other countries. Furthermore, ICT industry value added embodied in intermediate products may cross and re-cross borders many times prior to inclusion in final goods. The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products is concentrated in few economies; the top four (China, Korea, Chinese Taipei and the United States) account for about 60% of exports in value added terms.

Trade in ICT services has grown in recent years and reached USD 530 billion in 2017, representing 10% of total global trade in services. As with trade in ICT goods, a few economies account for the majority of global ICT services exports. Global exports of computer and information services have surged relative to telecommunication services. Ireland, which hosts many large multinational corporations, was the leading exporter of ICT services in 2017, with over 16% of the world total. India followed at 12.5%. China is becoming a major exporter along with Germany and the United States. Together, these five economies account for 52% of total exports of ICT services, up from 40% in 2008.

In global value chains (GVCs), patterns of regional demand for certain products may differ from patterns of regional production. Comparing the locations of final demand for products with the origins of value added and carbon dioxide emitted during production, can provide insights into the structure of global industries. Previously, the majority of final demand for computer, electronic and optical products came from OECD countries. However, this share declined significantly from about 78% in 2005 to about 54% in 2015. Meanwhile, China saw its share of final demand more than triple to 20%. Over the same period, the share of value added originating in China grew from 10% to 29%. In 2015, China also accounted for 55% of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions related to the production of final ICT goods, up from 43% in 2005. This reflects relatively high involvement in more energy intensive parts of the production chain such as raw material extraction and processing, and basic manufacturing, with relatively lower value added contributions. OECD countries’ tend to use more inputs from business service sectors, with lower energy requirements but higher value added contributions. These figures indicate that China remains a key player in global production of ICT goods, while simultaneously becoming a major consumer. In North America, the European Union and Japan, shares of global demand, value added origin, and CO₂ emissions fell sharply between 2005 and 2015.

Did You Know?

China is responsible for over one-third of ICT goods exports worldwide, while India and Ireland together account for 28% of trade in information and communication services.

Definitions

The computer, electronic and optical products industry refers to ISIC Rev.4 Division 26.

Exports in value added terms refers to domestic value added embodied in foreign final demand. ICT services exports consist of software; ICT consultancy; manufacturing, leasing and rental services for ICT equipment telecommunications services; and other ICT services sold to customers outside the national territory.

Final demand is the sum of final consumption (by households and governments), business investment and changes in inventories.

The “origins of value added” decomposes the value of final computer, electronic and optical products according to where value added was generated along production chains (from mineral extraction and manufacture of primary goods to the manufacture of complex components and final assembly).

Carbon dioxide arises from the combustion of carbon-based fuels with the resulting gas emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere where it contributes to climate change.

Measurability

Estimates of the origins of value added embodied in exports and final demand, available in the Trade in Value Added (TiVA) database, are derived from Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) tables that present annual inter-industry flows of intermediate and final goods and services, within and across economies.

Estimates of gross exports in the TiVA database exclude re-exports and are valued at basic prices (i.e. distribution margins are allocated to exports of services rather than goods). Gross trade flows presented in ICIO tables are adjusted to balance across countries, thus removing any asymmetries in officially reported bilateral trade statistics. Consequently, gross trade flows in the TiVA database may not match those reported by countries.

Embodied emissions reflect CO₂ emitted by domestic and foreign firms at all stages of production and distribution. They are derived by combining ICIO tables with estimates of CO₂ emissions from fuel use per unit of production, by each industry in each country – drawing on IEA data: www.iea.org/geco/emissions.

End of the section – Back to iLibrary publication page