Wed 21 October 2020:
The value of global trade is set to fall 7 to 9 percent in 2020 from the previous year, despite signs of a fragile rebound led by China in the third quarter, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.
No region was spared by an estimated 19 percent year-on-year plunge in world trade in the second quarter, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted economies, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said.
“Trade in home office equipment and medical supplies has increased in [the third quarter], while it further weakened in the automotive and energy sectors,” UNCTAD said. Growth in the textiles sector was also strong.
Its preliminary forecast for the fourth quarter is a 3-percent drop in global trade compared with the same period last year, but the report said that uncertainties persisted due to how the pandemic would evolve.
If the pandemic resurges in coming months, that could lead to a deteriorating environment for policymakers and a sudden increase in trade restrictions, it said.
China leads the way
“Overall, the level of Chinese exports for the first nine months of 2020 was comparable to that of 2019 over the same period,” it said.
Chinese demand for imported products recovered following a decline in the second quarter, contrary to other major economies, it said.
Earlier this month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) upgraded its forecast for trade in goods due to improvements from June and predicted a drop of 9.2 percent for 2020.
But it saw a more muted rebound in 2021, with further lockdowns from a second wave of COVID-19 infections posing clear risks.
