Resilience Under Crisis: Proposals and Considerations for Regional and Other Trade Agreements

Abstract

With reference to major global developments including COVID-19, climate change, and digital disruption, this study positions WTO and RTAs reform as key to building robustness and resilience in global supply and value chains. The overall focus of this paper is to combine the demand for resilience posed by the COVID-19 pandemic with addressing concurrent trends in competition and the digital economy. A variety of recommendations are provided; taken together, these aim to inform the further development and implementation of RTAs for a global economic stewardship led by a refurbished WTO. Issues covered include (a) Supply Chain Management; (b) Competition implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises; (c) Including Workplace Safety Standards in RTAs to protect the integrity of at-risk Global Value Chains (GVCs); (d) Updating TRIMS for the Twenty First Century; (e) Disruption: Digital connectivity, Data Storage/Security; and (f) Principles and Norms for proportional burden-sharing and snapback provisions. Alongside the recommendations in the above areas, the study introduces the concept of a resilience dashboard designed to aid policymakers in assessing the risk and impact of various national trade responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.