Covid-19 Pandemic Impact on International Trade and Trade Policy on Health Protection: Seeking Balances between Protecting Health and Promoting Trade Liberalisation Irna Nurhayati
Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Sosio Yustisia No. 1 Bulaksumur Sleman D.I. Yogyakarta, Indonesia
irnafh[at]ugm.ac.id
Abstract
It is an undeniable fact that Covid-19 pandemic has been impacting on health crisis and trade issue. This covid-19 pandemic has disrupted normal trade activities among countries. International trade in goods and services have been declined because of transport and travel restriction by states government. There has been a tendency that states government apply export restrictions and import facilitations for particular products, which are not only medical equipment, but also food commodities. Indonesia, as one among other severely affected countries issues trade policies in the form of Ministries regulations. In the realm of international trade rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO), on one hand, members have rights to protect health in their territory. However, on the other hand, members have obligation to promote trade liberalisation. Thus, it is the purpose of my research to analyse whether Indonesian export restrictions and import facilitations are consistent with WTO Agreements- and to discuss on how members including Indonesia should seek balances between protecting health and promoting trade liberalization amid and post Covid-19 pandemic. Through a normative legal research by employing a qualitative analysis, it is found that, firstly, Indonesian trade measures seem do not fully comply with WTO rules, especially due to their lack of transparency. Secondly, members should consider requirements in establishing trade policy, for instance that it shall be an emergency, temporary, and transparent.
Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, trade policy, trade liberalisation, Indonesia
