TRADE RESTRICTIONS IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19: A GATT PERSPECTIVE

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020 prompted many developing and developed countries to impose trade restrictions with the objective of ensuring domestic supply. Most of these restrictions were on the import and export of medical supplies and agricultural goods. This paper examines the nature of various international trade measures adopted worldwide between the months of March and June 2020, and attempts to contextualize them in the background of rising neo-nationalism. Further, the paper analyses the legality of the measure adopted with reference to the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Three major exemptions to prohibition on imposition of trade restrictive measures are studied; namely, measures imposed to relieve a critical shortage, measures imposed for protection of public health, and measures necessary to ensure national and international security. The paper also sheds light on the modern world's experience with trade protectionisms during the Great Depression & Global Financial Crisis in order to draw some parallels with the current trade patterns. It is seen that the GATT framework would accommodate many of the trade restrictions that were imposed in early months of 2020, as long as they were imposed in a non-discriminatory manner and for a short period of time. Thus, the legal framework for international trade proves incapable of ensuring free trade in times of global crises like a pandemic. Nevertheless, these measures hold the potential for new interpretations of critical GATT provisions. As far as the impact of these measures on developing and least developed countries are concerned, a case can be made for relaxed export restrictions. Seeing that a change in the GATT framework might not be a completely viable suggestion, the paper argues for a strict interpretation of GATT exceptions in a way that right to health is upheld and is at the crux of every trade policy adopted in times of a health emergency like this. The paper concludes with exploring the role of international cooperation in trade as a key aspect of tackling consequences of the pandemic.