Six targets for trade in a post-COVID world

COVID-19 lockdown measures hit aspects of trade hard. Merchandise trade volumes shrank by 3% in the first quarter of 2020, compared to the previous year average and estimates suggest an 18.5% drop for the second quarter. Services trade has been hampered by transport, travel and physical contact restrictions.

Certain pockets of demand, however, have surged – such as trade in medical equipment or videoconferencing and cloud services. Foreign direct investment is expected to fall drastically, but could rebound in 2022.

Governments and businesses must both shape effective trade responses to the immediate crisis and look to the future. Here are six issues our communities want conversations over trade to address:

1. Real resilience ...
2. Subsidies and industrial policy ...
3. Including Everyone ...
4. Green trade ...
5. Simplification ...
6. Services regulation ...

This was excerpted from a 7 July 2020 article by the World Economic Forum.