The World Trade Organization is calling for transparency among its members with regard to trade-related policies introduced to fight Covid-19.
Director-General Roberto Azevêdo has called on members to submit information to the WTO Secretariat about recent trade and trade-related measures – particularly those introduced in response to the virus.
“The current Covid-19 pandemic represents an almost unprecedented health crisis, and members are understandably responding by introducing legislation and policies to seek to combat this health emergency,” he said. “These include measures that are trade-related, such as export measures and economic support programmes.”
The DG said transparency would be particularly useful for the many countries that relied on imports for medical supplies.
He has set up a task force of experts from across the secretariat to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on trade flows and the overall global economy. Some of the task force's findings will inform the WTO's annual trade projections which will be released next month.
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