【英文】WTO报告：2021年世界贸易统计评论（136页）

英文研究报告 2021年08月11日 06:51 管理员

This publication presents recent trends in world trade and seeks to provide statistical insights on the trade impact of COVID-19. In 2020, the value of world merchandise exports declined by 8 per cent while services trade contracted by 21 per cent. The most severe impacts of the pandemic were felt in the second quarter of the year, when services trade dropped by a record 30 per cent as travel and transport were severely affected, while goods trade fell by 23 per cent, both in value terms. Trade began to recover as of mid-2020, but the effects of COVID-19 have varied significantly across countries and regions. In volume terms, which strip out the effects of fluctuating prices, Asia’s merchandise trade was down by only 0.5 per cent in 2020, compared to the global decline of 5.3 per cent. Asia’s resilience was due to the relative success of many countries at containing the virus’s spread in early 2020, together with the region’s role as a leading global supplier of consumer goods and medical products. In the first quarter of 2021, merchandise export volumes were up in Asia and Europe.

They were down slightly in South and Central America and North America, and more substantially in Africa and the Middle East. Across manufacturing sectors, the automotive sector suffered the most, with world exports dropping by 16 per cent in 2020. Meanwhile global exports of textiles grew by 16 per cent, driven by an increase in the production of personal protective equipment (PPE). Exports of medical products, including medicines, medical equipment and PPE, rose by more than 16 per cent, underscoring how trade has been a lifeline for access to critical goods through the pandemic, after the initial disruptions. Global value chains were severely disrupted during the first half of 2020. World exports of intermediate goods decreased by 10 per cent year-on-year. Trade was more resilient in value chains for high-tech goods and pharmaceutical/medical products. Trade in intermediate goods across countries started to recover in the third quarter of 2020. As of the first quarter of 2021, global trade in commercial services remained 9 per cent lower than in the same period in 2020. The travel sector was the most affected, as border closures, quarantine requirements, lockdowns, and other restrictions caused global travel exports to decline by 62 per cent in 2020. In contrast, demand for computer services was buoyant, reflecting the shift to remote work and the growth in digital platforms.