Introduction
Since the commencement of the Covid-19 pandemic, many peoples’ lives and livelihoods have been greatly affected around the world. Not only has the pandemic led to a health crisis, it has also caused a distress on the sources of income. This is because the pandemic has led to the loss of human lives, food systems, challenges, social, and economic disruption. On the futuristic view on trade, the World Trade Organization (2021), states that “the pandemic will inevitably have an enormous impact on the economy, on trade and consequently on jobs and people’s well-being” (0:21). Therefore, this paper will provide a summary and opinion on the Covid-19 pandemic and world trade exploring the role the World Trade Organization is to play to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the economy.
The Covid-19 Pandemic and World Trade
To curb transmission of Covid-19, most nations directed a policy where companies and organizations were to start sending their employees to work from home. The World Trade Organization (2021) mentions that the taskforce was not exempted from this initiative. However, the World Trade Organization’s task force’s main objective is to provide a global response to the Covid-19 crisis as well as the anticipated effects on trade. To successfully achieve this objective, the World Trade Organization has to collaborate and work closely with other international organizations. According to World Trade Organization (2021), the Covid-19 pandemic is predicted to lead to massive losses of income sources as well as overall economic regression resulting in financial crisis. The prediction concedes with the human dimension crisis brought by the Covid-19 pandemic where food security, labor and employment issues, and standards of living have been highly affected.
The World Trade Organization is anticipated to release a trade forecast report which is done regularly where trade is projected to have a massive receding. The World Trade Organization has come up with steps to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the economy to lay a solid foundation for a sustainable, strong, and long-term recovery. The first step, a govenrment should introduce certain periods during which it analyzes its financial performance and cuts interest rates to stimulate the economy (World Trade Organization, 2021). The second step is coordinating efforts aimed at increasing the recession and fighting power. The third step according to World Trade Organization (2021), asserts that a government should be honest in sharing information about the situation at hand. Therefore, fiscal policy, transparency, collective efforts, and regular update are some of the strategies a government can adopt to promote economic growth.
The World Trade Organization is mandated in ensuring that trade is open and beneficial to all, therefore, it has expanded its online outreach programs to increase transparency in its operations. In line with that, it has a webpage that is dedicated to providing information on trade and how it is connected with the Covid-19 pandemic. The webpage also contains information about projections and news on trade in products and services, outreach activities, and Covid-19 related trade measures as reported by members (World Trade Organization, 2021). Therefore, true to the information in the video, the organization helps monitor and builds trade capacity as well as facilitates it.
Conclusion
Therefore, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to worldwide challenges that require a collective global response in all affected sectors, be it social, health, or economic. Trade especially provides the platform for producing goods and services, medical supplies, and equipment as well as supplying them. To ensure availability and affordability of goods and services, honesty in business should be enabled. Consequently, people should promote unity and harmony to combat health crises and help others when in need to foster humanity and fasten economic recovery.
Reference
World Trade Organization. (2021). Covid-19 and World Trade. Web.