EU Trade of Covid-19 Related Products
Scientific Conference on Economics and Entrepreneurship SCEE '2020: Organized within the 61st International Scientific Conference of Riga Technical University: Book of Abstracts 2020
Astra Auziņa-Emsiņa

Global trade was shocked by COVID-19 restrictive measures, demanding additional medical supplies and safety procedures. The aim of the research is reveal general long-term trade trends in pre-COVID-19 era and detect short-term shock caused directly by COVID-19 measures. In the first two quarters of 2020, the value of imported COVID-19 products increased by 34% (reached 83.3 billion EUR) compared to the first two quarters of 2019. The research apply the concept of COVID-19 related products used by Eurostat that is based on indicative list elaborated by the Commission Decision No C(2020) 2146 and WCO/WHO list for medical supplies; it contains seven major groups. Medical consumables accounted for 32% of the EU COVID-19 products’ imports value in the first two quarters in 2020; Protective garments (29%); Diagnostic testing equipment (19%); Medical devices (13%); Oxygen therapy equipment (3%) and Medical vehicles and furniture (3%) and Sterilization products (only 1% as these products were mainly produced in the EU countries). The analyses of pre-COVID-19 era (2015-2018) revealed that these medical supplies had stable annual growth rates. Imports grew by 5.3% in 2016, 10.0% (in 2017), and 11.6% (in 2019), a minor decline of 0.3% in 2018. Major import partners are China, USA, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (UK). The EU maintains its global exporter’s positions of manufactured products (especially high-tech, high value added products), the COVID-19 products exports were accounted for 109.8 billion EUR in the first two quarters in 2020; in result the EU trade balance of COVID-19 products is positive with USA, the UK, Russia, and Japan


Keywords
international trade, import of medical supplies, export, COVID-19 products, COVID-19 crisis
Hyperlink
http://dom.lndb.lv/data/obj/868132.html

Auziņa-Emsiņa, A. EU Trade of Covid-19 Related Products. In: Scientific Conference on Economics and Entrepreneurship SCEE '2020: Organized within the 61st International Scientific Conference of Riga Technical University: Book of Abstracts, Latvia, Rīga, 14-16 October, 2020. Riga: RTU Press, 2020, pp.41-41. ISBN 978-9934-22-510-9. ISSN 2256-0866.

Publication language
English (en)
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