argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: WTO - G20 - emergenza sanitaria Covid – 19

Notwithstanding the import-restrictive mentalities that the Group of 20 (G20) embraced in the last years, the trend after the Covid-19 outbreak is to reopen and facilitate imports even with reference to Covid-19-related products. Specifically, this is the idea that emerges from the WTO’s latest biannual monitoring report on trade measures according to which, between October 2019 and May2020, the G20 economies implemented 154 new trade and trade-related measures, 60 per cent of which were linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. New import-restrictive measures unrelated to the pandemic covered an estimated USD 417.5 billion worth of merchandise trade, the third-highest figure recorded since May 2012. About the report, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo maintained: “Historically high levels of trade-restrictive measures remain a source of concern, all the more so at a time when international trade and investment will be critical to rebuild economies, businesses and livelihoods around the world. That said, we also see some encouraging indications: not since 2014 have import-facilitating measures implemented during a single monitoring period covered more trade”.