COVID-19 has undoubtedly changed the landscape of international trade. The turbulent times that COVID-19 has ushered in has subsequently established a chaotic trade climate that has seen both positive and negative trade actions by countries. Supply chains have been affected by manufacturing and port closures, as well as export restrictions on some medical and food products. At the same time, there has been positive trade momentum including tariff deferral and exclusions, economic stimulus, extra commercial plane cargo shipments, and increased demand of certain food products. The highs and lows of the pandemic have required countries to reassess their trade policies. Below is a summary of actions over the past three months and considerations for the future as we transition to a new normal and anticipate another wave of cases in fall and winter.
 

​2020 has opened with plenty of good news on the US trade front. The new year kicked off on a high note as the US-Japan trade deal entered into force on 1 January 2020. We have also seen significant progress made on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the US-China Phase One trade deal. In this edition, we look at these developments along with an update on the state of transatlantic trade talks and a brief overview of other US trade initiatives that may prove fruitful in the coming months. 

TradeMoves presents our new bi-monthly blog series This Time in Trade where we look at current events over the previous two months to present the key developments in trade policy that are impacting our clients and US exporters more generally.

This first edition covers the major policy developments that transpired from October through the first week in December. It has been a very busy couple of months in trade policy. We examine the latest developments in the US-China trade war, the opening of a new exclusion process for US Section 301 List 4A tariffs on imports from China, the ratification process of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the escalating Transatlantic trade fight between the United States and the European Union (EU), and the US-Japan trade deal.