WTO, IMF Call For Lifting Export Restrictions On Food And Medical Supplies

by GoNews Desk 3 years ago Views 2367

WTO, IMF Call For Lifting Export Restrictions On F
The World Trade Organisation and International Monetary Fund have called on governments to refrain from imposing or intensifying export restrictions on medical supplies and food, warning that such restrictions can be “dangerously counterproductive”. They also urged governments to exercise caution on such restrictions and lift those put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global organisations also said they were concerned by the decline of trade financing needed to ensure that food and medical supply imports get to the countries that need them most.


“Export restrictions can be dangerously counterproductive… Such measures disrupt supply chains, depress production, and misdirect scarce, critical products and workers away from where they are most needed,” the organisations said.

Other governments counter with their own restrictions. The result is to prolong and exacerbate the health and economic crisis—with the most serious effects likely on the poorer and more vulnerable countries, they said.

The experience in the global financial crisis showed that food export restrictions multiply rapidly across countries and lead to ever greater uncertainties and price increases. We are also concerned that if critical agricultural workers are not able to move to where the harvest is, crops could rot in the fields. Where new cropping seasons are starting, planting could be hampered, lowering both domestic and international supplies and increasing food insecurity. We urge governments to address these challenges in a safe and proportionate manner, they added.

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