30 Apr 2020
Books/ Book Chapters
Hoekman, Bernard
,
Yildirim, Aydin
COVID-19: Export controls and international cooperation
Chapter by Matteo Fiorini, Bernard Hoekman and Aydin Yildirim in Richard Baldwin and Simon Evenett (eds.), COVID-19 and Trade Policy: Why Turning Inward Won’t Work, published by CEPR Press (2020), pp. 77-88
As part of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have restricted exports of medical products with the aim to allocate domestic supplies to national healthcare systems and citizens. However, these policies can have unintended consequences and may be of limited effectiveness, fostering price spikes, volatility, and foreign policy tensions. The G20 and like-minded WTO members could help reduce incentives to use export controls through plurilateral cooperation agreements on key policy areas for responding to such crises.