Skip to main content

The effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on international trade and logistics

Special Report COVID-19, No. 6

Published date 2020-08-06
Author UN. ECLAC
UN symbol

This Special Report is the sixth in a series by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on the evolution and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. It includes estimates regarding the pandemic’s impact on exports, imports, transportation and logistics in the region’s countries.

The COVID-19 outbreak occurred in a context of sluggish global trade that has been dragging on since the 2008–2009 financial crisis. The rapid spread of COVID-19 and the measures taken by governments to contain it have had serious consequences for the world’s major economies. Many productive activities have been disrupted, first in Asia and then in Europe, North America and the rest of the world, and there have been widespread border closures. This has resulted in a steep rise in unemployment, especially in the United States, with a consequent reduction in demand for goods and services. Against this backdrop, global GDP in 2020 is expected to register its sharpest contraction since the Second World War.

This title is also available in Spanish: 

Los efectos del COVID-19 en el comercio internacional y la logística