PANDEMIC SLOWS PROTECTIONISM

According to a recent WTO report, the balance of trade policies respected by the G20 economies has prevented a destructive acceleration of those protectionist measures which would have further damaged the world economy, already tested by the health emergency.

The 25th WTO Trade Monitoring Report analyzes the trade measures taken by the G20 economies as the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The period examined (from mid-October 2020 to mid-May 2021), presents interesting information, identifying a series of areas subject, in most Countries, to an economic recovery, even in the presence of a health emergency that has not yet ended. In particular, international cooperation and coordination between nations and intergovernmental organisations has increased and intensified in recent months. In numerical terms, since the beginning of the pandemic, the G20 economies have implemented 140 trade measures, 101 (72%) to promote trade and only 39 (28%) of a protectionist nature. The reduction or elimination of import taxation, applied to goods such as DPI, disinfectants, medical equipment, and medicine, accounted for 60% of trade facilitation measures. Export bans accounted for more than 90% of all restrictive measures; grants, loans, fiscal and financial incentives for the sectors most affected by the crisis (agriculture, health, tourism), on the other hand, were the subject of the support policies adopted.