State regulation of Ukraine's foreign trade in a global pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused problems in all sectors of the world economy. There is no doubt that the pandemic will have far-reaching negative consequences for the world economy, including Ukraine. It is established that in January-September 2020, exports of Ukrainian goods decreased by almost 6%, imports – by 19%. Exports maintained large harvests of grain and oilseeds. Monitoring of changes in trade policy in the context of the spread of COVID-19 allowed to identify groups of countries that have introduced restrictive measures in trade policy: in 24 countries no export-import restrictions were introduced, in 19 countries indirect measures were implemented to protect the economy. To offset the negative effects on business, governments are developing aid packages to support it. These are mainly the following instruments: loans at reduced rates, the grace period for the payment of tax liabilities, cash grants. It was established that only some developing countries impose temporary foreign trade restrictions to avoid shortages in the domestic market. Most countries use other economic incentives to mitigate the effects of a pandemic. Ukraine is implementing economic measures and temporary trade restrictions to counter the pandemic. In particular, the Government of Ukraine introduced temporary restrictions on exports with the establishment of a zero quota for alcohol, buckwheat and anti-epidemic goods. The alcohol export ban not only did not worsen the situation on Ukraine's foreign markets, but also marked almost triple their extension. The embargo on buckwheat and grain exports from Ukraine has tripled imports. Despite the embargo on exports of anti-epidemic goods, trade did not stop, but even increased significantly for some commodity subheadings. The results of the study allowed to identify measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic in trade and economic cooperation of Ukraine on the international arena.