IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/ijomae/v60y2024i3p173-185n1002.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Restrictions applied by WTO countries in international trade in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Fronczek Małgorzata

    (Faculty of Economics, University of Economics in Katowice, Katowice, Poland)

Abstract

Objective The present article discusses changes in tariff and non-tariff restrictions applied in World Trade Organization (WTO) countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The employed research tools were a review and analysis of literature along with source statistical data of WTO, UNCTAD, OECD, and ITC. Findings During the pandemic, the average level of tariffs in the WTO countries did not change significantly. From 2019 to 2021, the standard level of duties amounted to less than 15% in more than 90% of the member states. In contrast, 2020 saw an unprecedented increase since 1995 in the number of new non-tariff measures introduced without prior notification. As a result, the restrictions applied as a whole covered the most significant part of world trade since 2009 (13.6%). The newly introduced restrictive measures affected trade worth US$68.8 billion in 2020, i.e., over half as much as in 2019 (US$46.2 billion). Originality A noneconomic factor (pandemic) caused the WTO countries to introduce restrictions that were permitted but eluded normal procedures. This calls into question the effectiveness of liberalization measures within the WTO.

Suggested Citation

  • Fronczek Małgorzata, 2024. "Restrictions applied by WTO countries in international trade in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 60(3), pages 173-185.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:ijomae:v:60:y:2024:i:3:p:173-185:n:1002
    DOI: 10.2478/ijme-2024-0012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijme-2024-0012
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/ijme-2024-0012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; liberalization in international trade; nontariff restrictions; tariff restrictions; WTO;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:ijomae:v:60:y:2024:i:3:p:173-185:n:1002. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sgh.waw.pl/kgs/en .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.