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Trade Therapy: Deepening Cooperation to Strengthen Pandemic Defenses
The goals of this report are to identify the trade system weaknesses revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic and to propose concrete steps to address those weaknesses at the national level and through closer cooperation at the multilateral and regional levels. This study seeks to help policy makers leverage trade to bolster the world’s pandemic defenses; it serves as a playbook that can be rolled out once an emergency starts. This report deals specifically with such issues as trade and trade policy, including tariffs and quotas, cross-border investment, telehealth, international health worker mobility, and intellectual property rights. Clearly, trade is only one part of a broader global effort to prepare for and respond to the next pandemic—an effort that also involves health and development policy. Such issues have been addressed elsewhere and are discussed here only as they relate specifically to trade and trade policy.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT The report’s contributions range from new data and analysis of medical goods and services trade—before and after the pandemic—to policy proposals on multiple levels, both within and beyond traditional trade support frameworks. It comprises four chapters:
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Chapter 1, “Trade Flows in Medical Goods and Services,” examines the main demand and supply characteristics of markets for medical goods and services. It also provides stylized facts on trends in international trade in those goods and services, including the functioning of medical supply chains before and during the pandemic. Chapter 2, “Trade Policies in Medical Goods and Services,” explores how trade policies and regulatory frameworks have affected international trade in m edical goods and services—including critical inputs—under normal circumstances and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chapter 3, “Deepening Cooperation on Medical Goods and Services Trade,” explores how improved international cooperation in trade and trade-related issues could contribute to global health security. Starting from the gaps in cooperation that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, the chapter outlines steps to ensure that rules in trade agreements and mechanisms of cooperation beyond trade support efforts to better respond to the next pandemic. Chapter 4, “Leveraging Medical Goods and Services Trade for Future Pandemics: An Action Plan,” summarizes the report’s recommendations and presents a detailed menu of options for policy action and reform that can leverage various trade instruments and measures to improve crisis prevention, preparedness, and response.
