Export Controls and Export Bans over the Course of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Global trade will experience a sharp drop due to the Covid-19 pandemic; the World Trade Organization (WTO) expects a decline between 13 and 32 percent this year. According to the WTO, by late April 2020, 33 countries and the European Union have notified 92 trade and trade-related measures with the WTO. These send a disastrous signal and exacerbate supply shortages of vital products in the fight against the pandemic. They also delay the necessary conversion of industrial production capacity.