Trade Policy Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis: Evidence from a New Dataset

Simon Evenett, Matteo Fiorini and Johannes Fritz, Bernard Hoekman, Piotr Lukaszuk, Nadia Rocha, Michele Ruta, Filippo Santi and Anirudh Shingal
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Bernard Hoekman, Nadia Rocha and Michele Ruta

No 2020/78, RSCAS Working Papers from European University Institute

Abstract: This paper presents new high frequency data on trade policy changes targeting medical and food products since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting how countries used trade policy instruments in response to the health crisis on a week-by-week basis. The dataset reveals a rapid increase in trade policy activism in February and March 2020 in tandem with the rise in COVID-19 cases, but also uncovers extensive heterogeneity across countries in both their use of trade policy and the types of measures used. Some countries acted to restrict exports and facilitate imports, others targeted only one of these margins, and many did not use trade policy at all. The observed heterogeneity suggests numerous research questions on the drivers of trade policy responses to COVID-19, on the effects of these measures on trade and prices of critical products, and on the role of trade agreements in influencing trade activism.

Keywords: COVID-19; trade policy; export restrictions; import liberalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 F52 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Trade policy responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic crisis: Evidence from a new data set (2022)
Working Paper: Trade Policy Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: Evidence from a New Data Set (2020)
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