Did COVID-19 Trigger a “New Normal” in Trade Policy?

Analysis of Global Trade Alert (GTA) data indicates that while the COVID-19 pandemic increased the total volume of commercial policy interventions, it did not fundamentally alter the long-term trend of trade policy mix. The share of interventions favoring domestic firms remained stable between 0.80 and 0.85 since 2009. However, the pandemic saw a sharp spike in export bans—at least 50 times the 2015-2019 average—and an increase in corporate subsidies, while harmful import restrictions on market access actually declined. The author argues that these export curbs disrupted supply chains and should lead to tighter WTO rules on exceptions.

• The COVID-19 pandemic increased the total volume of commercial policy interventions, with 5,885 state acts recorded in 2020. Even with incomplete data for 2021, the recorded 4,016 interventions are 25% higher than the average seen from 2015 to 2019.
• The pandemic did not create a 'new normal' regarding the overall mix of trade policy; the proportion of interventions that favor national firms over foreign competition has remained remarkably stable between 0.80 and 0.85 since 2009.
• There was a significant increase in the use of export bans and corporate subsidies during the pandemic. Export bans in 2020 were at least 50 times higher than the average for the period 2015-2019, primarily targeting medical equipment, consumables, and later, vaccines.
• Contrary to the rise in export curbs, the share of harmful import restrictions affecting market access (such as tariffs and quotas) has generally declined since the global financial crisis, a trend that was accentuated by 771 import reforms for medical goods in 2020.

APA

Evenett, S. (2022). Did COVID-19 Trigger a “New Normal” in Trade Policy? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/covid-19-trade-policy

Chicago

Evenett, Simon. Did COVID-19 Trigger a “New Normal” in Trade Policy? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/covid-19-trade-policy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Evenett |first1=Simon |title=Did COVID-19 Trigger a “New Normal” in Trade Policy? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=25 September 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/covid-19-trade-policy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{evenett2022did, author = {Evenett, Simon}, title = {{Did COVID-19 Trigger a “New Normal” in Trade Policy?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/covid-19-trade-policy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }