Trade Facilitation During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract The role of international trade was irreplaceable at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, especially the trade in medical supplies and food for all affected countries. Trade as a part of this crisis, certainly should not be an element of further countries` closing and new trade barriers implementation. On the contrary, it could be a way to exceed these problems, especially if all participants in the trade point out the same aims of the normal trading during the pandemic crisis and implementation of Trade Facilitation Agreement provisions. The effects of Trade Policy measures during the COVID-19 crisis and their relation with the Trade Facilitation Agreement were analyzed in this paper. Trade measures applied at the beginning of the crisis have dual character, trade facilitating and trade restricting. This paper highlights the tariff reduction and non-tariff barriers decrease, as possible approaches for the trade policy. The aim of this paper is to show the extent to which the TF agreement, ratified recently, could be applied during the time of the pandemic. This paper provides an overview of a number of trade policy measures that have slowed down the implementation of this agreement. It also points out the role of this agreement, as one of the most important instruments that could be used to expedite the movement of goods, which is especially necessary during the pandemic.