ACTION ESSENTIALS FREE ALTERNITIVE UPDATE

The OECD is sharing information on trade-related country actions on COVID-19 with WTO colleagues, and assessing the likely impact of these actions to help support policy makers dealing with the crisis.īuilding on our annual Monitoring and Evaluation of Agricultural Policies we are tracking and assessing the impact of country measures in relation to agrifood production and trade in response to COVID-19. It will be critical that countries honour their commitments to notify trade-related measures taken in response to COVID-19 to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). But in the context of the severe economic strain from COVID-19, it is more important than ever to avoid escalation of the current trade tensions.įirst, boost confidence in trade and global markets by improving transparencyĪ strong, shared, transparent information base is critical in underpinning sound national policy responses and the international co-operation to keep trade flowing. Efforts at dialogue to manage and prevent tensions through ongoing negotiations are now complicated by mobility restrictions. This is a particular challenge at a time of trade tensions, where the international trading system was already subject to an increased number of new restrictions and distortions, from tariff increases among major traders, to significant government support in key sectors. Trade is essential to save both lives and livelihoods.īut keeping trade flowing requires co-operation and trust – for example, that the market will supply essentials, that countries will not impose export restrictions, and that imports do not pose health risks. What is clear is that the virus and its aftermath looks likely to be with us for some time.Īgainst this background, there is a clear need to keep trade flowing, both to ensure the supply of essential products and to send a signal of confidence for the global economy. The virus is proceeding in waves, with countries succumbing – and set to recover – at different times. Yet notwithstanding these efforts, most major economies now look set to enter recession, and more serious scenarios cannot be discounted.Ī further challenge is the uncertainty about COVID-19, including in terms of the scale and pace of infection how long and widespread shutdown measures will prove necessary the prospects for treatments to better manage symptoms, allowing health services to focus only on the most serious cases and the risk of “second wave” infections as the virus moves around the globe. Moreover, the costs to the global economy from support packages, through central banks and fiscal actions, are very significant and likely to have long-lasting and complex effects on management of sovereign and corporate debt. The most recent estimates in the June 10 OECD Economic Outlook suggest an unprecedented collapse in the first half of 2020 – an almost 13% decline in global GDP (Figure 1). In the March 2020 OECD Interim Economic Outlook, the downside scenario saw global growth halved to 1.5%. The human scale of this tragedy is set to worsen as the virus spreads to lower income countries with weaker healthcare systems. The virus continues to spread throughout the globe, placing health systems under unprecedented stress in the battle to save lives. In a challenging and uncertain situation, trade is essential to save lives – and livelihoodsĬOVID-19 is a humanitarian crisis on a global scale.

ACTION ESSENTIALS FREE ALTERNITIVE UPDATE

This document is an update of the 10 April 2020 version available on the OECD dedicated COVID-19 digital hub.

OECD is working with other IOs to support governments through timely and objective evidence and analysis to inform policy choices. Government support today needs to be delivered in a way that ensures it serves the public interest, not vested interests, and avoids becoming tomorrow’s market distortions. In the midst of significant uncertainty, there are four things we can do: 1) boost confidence in trade and global markets by improving transparency about trade-related policy actions and intentions 2) keep supply chains flowing, especially for essentials such as health supplies and food 3) avoid making things worse, through unnecessary export restrictions and other trade barriers and 4) even in the midst of the crisis, think beyond the immediate. In an unprecedented global health crisis, trade is essential to save lives and livelihoods and international co-operation is needed to keep trade flowing.

Action essentials free alternitive