Open AccessAn assessment of trade policies related to COVID-19
Author(s) -
Rosane Nunes de Faria,
Laura Mercedes Grimaldo Hidalgo,
Leonardo José Rolim Ferraz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
revista galega de economía
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.159
H-Index - 6
eISSN - 2255-5951
pISSN - 1132-2799
DOI - 10.15304/rge.30.1.7334
Subject(s) - covid-19 , world trade , international trade , business , agriculture , international economics , economics , geography , medicine , disease , archaeology , pathology , virology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, international trade was particularly important to guarantee the supply of medical and other goods. This article analyses COVID-19 trade-related policies found in the World Trade Organization (WTO) system from February to October 2020. We used the Database of WTO members’ notifications on COVID-19, including information on 198 notifications. It allows us to observe the trend of notifications, countries and products most affected, types of measures, and the adherence to the WTO’s guidelines. Our findings show two waves of notifications. In the first wave, countries acted unilaterally with little regard to multilateral tools. However, in the second wave, characterized by the predominance of trade-facilitating measures, a trend towards multilateral actions is observed through the establishment of “declarations”. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies were the most affected products, but agricultural and food products have also been heavily affected.