Coronavirus: Johns Hopkins' visiting professor explains how COVID-19 impacts trade policy

Global trade in the age of COVID-19 has taken on a new dimension of urgency, as relationships between nations are critical to successfully fighting the pandemic. Unfortunately, some countries, in a misguided effort to protect their own self-interests, have imposed export restrictions on medical supplies and food, sparking the risk of such protectionist measures spreading worldwide, much like the virus itself.

As co-editor of a just-released ebook entitled COVID-19 and Trade Policy: Why Turning Inward Won't Work, Simon Evenett, Professor of International Trade, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland; and DLA Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, presents an emphatic argument that protectionism will only serve to deeply exacerbate the crisis, harming the “collaborative spirit” humanity will need to tackle – and ultimately banish – the scourge. “Trade,” said Evenett, “isn’t part of the problem – it’s an essential part of the solution.”

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