The World Trade Organization (WTO) has outlined how countries have accelerated access to critical medical goods and services through trade measures, as part of their broader responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Early data from 41 countries shows that the trade of Medical products grew by 38,7% in the first half of 2020The WTO has also updated its services trade barometer with data up to the second quarter of 2020, which shows gains in some sectors.
La information note of the WTO identifies a variety of positive actions and findings, noting that shortages of personal protective equipment have eased since the early stages of the pandemic. commitments and declarations of the ministers of trade and the G20 leaders Since the beginning of the pandemic, the WTO points out, they have helped keep markets open and trade in medical products flowing.
Transparency, the briefing note stresses, is “a key pillar of the commitment to keeping markets open.” A WTO press release notes that many of these actions are a matter of public record, resulting from countries’ formal notifications to the WTO, the organization’s trade monitoring report, or its COVID-19 monitoring exercise. Of the measures reported to the WTO, those that reduce or eliminate import tariffs comprise around two-thirds of trade facilitation actions taken by countries.
To guarantee the smooth movement of goods across borders, the WTO points out the Measures taken by countries to modernize customs procedures, thereby reducing bureaucratic procedures, easing documentation requirements and electronic processing helping to simplify the import and export of medical supplies. The information note also recognizes the Removal or temporary deferral of tariffs, taxes and other charges by 40 members WTO's tariffs on critical COVID-19 medical products and other essential items. The note applauds countries that have not only deferred taxes or tariffs on medical supplies, but also goods or related services that guarantee your delivery (e.g. transportation equipment).
On the measures taken to improve access to the COVID-19 related medical services, the note highlights that Countries facilitate the international movement of health workers (for example, through work permits and visa extensions) and actions to increase the use of Telemedicine overcoming regulatory hurdles. Each of these services, the document emphasizes, serves to relieve pressure on national health systems and enable medical care at short notice, and to enable the transmission of health-related information to remote locations.
Despite some progress, the overall score of the barometer of trade in services of the WTO “of 95,6 is the lowest on record for the index,” where a score of 100 represents the basis for medium-term trends.
The services trade barometer generates a composite score based on six component indices. The score is heavily affected by the collapse of passenger air transport, one of the six indices measured, in 2020 due to COVID-19. The remaining five indices appear to be stabilizingThe WTO publishes two trade barometers, one on trade in goods and one on trade in services.
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