WTO updates Report on Trade in Medical Goods
in the Context of COVID-19
The WTO Secretariat has published an update of
the information note on trade in medical goods in the context of tackling
COVID-19 which was first issued on 3 April. The update looks at developments
that took place in the first half of 2020.
The new paper presents preliminary trade statistics from 97 economies
and compares data from January to June 2020 to the same period in 2019. The
update includes a special case study on face masks, a heavily traded product
which has become the most visible symbol of the fight against the pandemic.
While total world trade in goods declined by 14 per cent in the
first half of 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019, imports and
exports of medical goods increased by 16 per cent, reaching US$ 1.139 trillion
in value.
Trade played a major role in meeting skyrocketing demand for
products considered critical in the COVID-19 pandemic, such as disinfectants,
face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, pulse oximeters, syringes, thermometers and
ventilators. Global trade in these products grew by 29 per cent year-on-year.
The note also looks at total imports of face protection products
in the first half of 2020, which increased by 90 per cent compared to the same
period last year. Trade in textile face masks grew about six-fold and were the
most traded among the different types of faces masks, despite facing the
highest tariffs.
·
While total world trade declined
by 14 per cent in the first half of 2020 compared to the same time period in
2019, imports and exports of medical goods increased by 16 per cent, reaching
US$ 1,139 billion in value.
·
Trade played a critical role in
meeting skyrocketing demand for products considered critical in the COVID-19
pandemic, with global trade in these products growing by 29 per cent.
·
Total imports of face protection
products in the first half of 2020 increased by 90 per cent compared to the
same period last year. Trade in textile face masks has grown about six-fold.
·
China was the top supplier of
face masks, accounting for 56 per cent of world exports. To ramp up mask
manufacturing, China leaned heavily on imports of intermediate input materials:
its imports of non-woven fabric tripled in April 2020 compared with the same
month of 2019, with Japan and the United States as the leading suppliers. China
was also the sixth-largest importer of face masks in the first half of 2020.
·
Among the different types of face
masks, textile masks are the most traded despite facing the highest tariffs.
·
Leading importers of
COVID-19-critical products registered double-digit import growth compared to
2019, including 62 per cent in France and 52 per cent in Italy.
·
Chinese exports of
COVID-19-critical medical products more than tripled based on year-on-year data
for the first half of the year, from US$ 18 billion to US$ 55 billion.