Zdenek Drabek, CERGE-EI, Charles University: The effects of COVID-19 on global trade are undoubtedly a matter of major interest to all of us. The rise of China and Southeast Asia have been greatly enabled by globalization and the rapid growth of global trade and foreign direct investment. The spectacular transition of post-Communist countries from central planning to market-oriented economies has been driven by the success of economic integration in Europe. Even the United States, which has been recently attacking multilateral institutions, has been a beneficiary of improved market access around the globe. Open markets and capital mobility have been a major source of a spectacular growth of profits of big U.S. tech companies and financial institutions.
So far, the effect of COVID-19 on global trade and investment has not been widely covered and studied. The traditional multilateral institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, OECD, and the World Trade...