An international comparison of the structure of national foreign market servicing strategies

The total foreign sales of any country are made up of flows of exports (X),foreign licensed sales (L) and sales arising from foreign direct investments (I) (TFS = X + L + I). This paper shows that the breakdown of total foreign sales varies greatly by country of origin and industrial sector. This breakdown within the major advanced countries (the "triad") is analysed as are intra-EC sales, differences between developed and developing countries as host countries are found and a significant difference between manufacturing and services industries persists across countries. Policy implications at national and international level are drawn and the data are found to shed light on current GATT negotiations (the "Uruguay Round").