argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: WTO - export restrictions - WTO report

The WTO Secretariat discloses its new report underlying the introduction of export prohibitions or restrictions as a consequence of the Covid-19 outbreak; such report concerns up to eighty countries and custom territories and it highlights the difficulties that these measures can create in the future for the public welfare and the global market.

Specifically, according to the report the above-mentioned measures mainly concern medical supplies and pharmaceuticals and some of the countries also put some restrictions on toilet paper and food. It is necessary to acknowledge that only 13 WTO members, within which one is the European Union, have actually given notice of such new measures in accordance with WTO rules for quantitative restrictions. The report urges WTO members to notify their measures and gives specific instruction to be compliant. According to the report, some exceptions to WTO’s rule may be understood during the sanitary emergency, though it reminds member states that such violations could have a negative impact on the future.