Trade Policy in a Pandemic: An integrated approach
Policy insights from the WTO's Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the integral role of international trade in responding to the global health crisis. All communities depended to some extent on trade for medical products, related services and vaccines. This publication looks into the WTO’s response to the pandemic in four areas: monitoring the flow of goods related to COVID-19, working towards a coordinated international response, conducting policy and statistical analysis with other intergovernmental organizations, and analysing the lessons learned to shape a blueprint for future cooperation.

The publication examines how WTO members negotiated a framework to guide and consolidate the WTO’s response to the pandemic, to enhance the flow of practical knowledge and to help render the multilateral trading system better prepared for future crises. Negotiations resulted in the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022. The importance of this work was confirmed in the Ministerial Declaration issued in March 2024 at MC13, which encouraged relevant WTO bodies to continue their work on reviewing the lessons learned from the pandemic and on building effective solutions in case of future pandemics.

Published in 2025.

Download