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Law360 (April 6, 2020, 3:29 PM EDT) -- The World Trade Organization and the World Customs Organization on Monday issued a call for government leaders to refrain from overly burdensome restrictions on trade in medical supplies in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the two organizations said they would be working together to "minimize disruption" of trade, particularly for goods that have become essential to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. They also pledged to cooperate on trade facilitation initiatives, particularly for landlocked and developing countries.
"As COVID-19 continues to spread globally and governments consider new measures to protect the health and well-being of their citizens, we urge members to ensure that any new border action is targeted, proportionate, transparent and non-discriminatory," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and WCO Secretary-General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya said.
Azevêdo and Mikuriya kept their statement broadly aligned with commitments from G-20 leaders made last month, who pledged to keep trade channels open and that any "emergency" steps taken to restrict trade should be "targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary."
The WTO has been looking to assert itself as a hub of global leadership during the spread of the pandemic, urging countries to quickly notify the rest of its membership when steps are taken that may restrict trade in critical medical supplies. The WCO has maintained a similar notification system.
Even as international organizations and government leaders continually pledge to liberalize trade during the outbreak, major economies have continued to take steps in the opposite direction.
The European Union moved to restrict exports of personal protective equipment, or PPE, like masks, googles, visors and garments last month, drawing a sharp rebuke from free trade advocates and global health watchdogs. Brussels has also moved to waive duties on value-added taxes on crucial medical equipment.
In the U.S., President Donald Trump issued a memorandum invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 to limit exports of PPE, ostensibly in an effort to prevent price gouging and profiteering of that equipment.
"Nothing in this order will interfere with the ability of PPE manufacturers to export when doing so is consistent with United States policy and in the national interest of the United States," the White House said in a statement.
While the administration aimed to narrow the scope of its new restrictions, the document came down after a public dust-up with manufacturer 3M, which said that the White House told the company to cease exports of masks to Canada.
"Cutting off US exports is unimaginably short-sighted. Today's shortages mean our needs can only be filled by imports," Peterson Institute for International Economics fellow Chad Bown wrote on Twitter on Monday. "Trump's decision to restrict exports invites other countries to do the same. American doctors, nurses and their patients will all suffer."
--Editing by Abbie Sarfo.
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