These country posts participated in an effort to expand information on Markets of Opportunity for the services sector. The country reports contain information critical for the U.S. Government as it continues to support U.S. Service companies, especially small business, in an increasingly competitive world market. Each Post was asked to identify the top services markets in their respective countries that present potential opportunity for U.S. companies. In addition, some Posts provided a brief narrative assessment of the country's service sector as a whole, emphasizing and characterizing its level of development, its dynamism, and its openness to U.S. and other foreign services. Additional information on the priority industries has been added from other sources.

Overall, the United States is the worlds's premier producer and exporter of services. As the largest component of the U.S. economy, the services sector includes all economic activity other than agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. U.S. services exports more than doubled over the past ten years, rising from $117 billion in 1989 to $246 billion last year. The dominant role that services play throughout the U.S. economy translates into leadership in technology advancement, growth in skilled jobs, and global competitiveness. Foreign markets offer incredibly bright prospects for further export expansion and for creating new jobs by companies exporting U.S. services, and we have barely begun to tap these markets.

For further information on services markets of opportunity, contact your closest U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center (USEAC). A full listing of USEACs can be found at the U.S. Commercial Service Website. Copies of the full country reports are also available upon request. Additional information on numerous Industry Sector Analyses and International Market Insight reports are available at www.stat-usa.gov.

For trade development information of interest to companies in the services sector, contact the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Service Industries in Washington DC (tel 202/482-3575 ; FAX 202/482-2669).

For general information about the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce, visit the website.

For general export information, call 1-800-USA-TRADE.