THE INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Notwithstanding recent relatively reassuring signs in Australia, COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on global trade. In this edition, we reflect on what, to us, seem to be the more pressing trade policy implications.

In a guest column, Professor Andreas Freytag dissects the economics of ‘stocking’ up in relation to agitation for on-shoring of supply chains – a debate gathering pace rapidly across the world and in Australia — with our well-established free trade tradition. Simon Lacey looks into his crystal ball to discern how pandemic responses may shape key aspects of globalization. TIISA associate Magnus Loedefalk speculates on whether globalization faces long term reversals, brought on by COVID-19. Naoise McDonagh dissects the evolving geopolitical tea-leaves, specifically what trends pandemic responses have reinforced, and what may be changing. I provide a framework for conditioning future pandemic trade policy responses — a ‘containment’ (of protectionist impulses) — strategy, along with some proposals for G20 action to fix evident lacuna in WTO rules exposed by health-policy related responses.

As a member of the Australian Services Roundtable, IIT also signed up, via ASR, to the Global Services Coalition statement on COVID-19, given the many and severe impacts that pandemic responses have dealt to global services trade and investment. Also in the spirit of collaboration, we are supporting the GTPA and Supply Chain Resource Cooperative online series on managing your business in challenging times. As our contributions this month make clear, the trade policy environment is now much more fraught with minefields, while businesses are under significant stress, so this is a modest contribution to help SMEs in particular to chart their way through these choppy waters. Please sign up.

Professor Peter Draper 

The ongoing covid-19 crisis has brought to the fore the vulnerability of societies relying on highly efficient global value chains (GVC) and single suppliers for specific goods. During the crisis, which first severely hit China as the central link in many GVCs, most countries have suffered a shortage of both simple and technologically complex medical devices (e.g. face masks and ventilators respectively). Fierce competition for these devices has emerged, leading to global tensions and trade restrictions, but also to a discussion about the organization of supply-chains and the need for national emergency stockpiling of medical devices.

By Professor Andreas Freytag - Chair of Economic Policy, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena

POLICY AND ENGAGEMENT

World leaders, and particularly G20 leaders, are not short of advice concerning how to manage the COVID-19 crisis. IIT's latest policy brief makes the case for greater cooperation to build trade resilience for future health (or other global) crises, via adoption of a coherent policy and regulatory framework.

By Professor Peter Draper - Institute for International Trade

EVENTS

Together with the Global Trade Professionals Alliance and the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative we developed a series of webinars where you will be able to meet other business operators ‘virtually’ for expert-moderated interactive online discussions. Join us on Wednesday 29th April at 5.30 pm (ACST).

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