The 25th WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 Trade Measures indicates, medical supplies rose by 16 per cent in 2020 while PPE exports grew by 50 per cent. This was despite an 8 per cent decline in the value of global merchandize trade during the year, as per a report by China Textiles.

The 25th WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 Trade Measures spans the mid-October 2020 to mid-May 2021 period. It provides an important insight into a number of areas as countries begin addressing the challenges of a post-pandemic economic recovery. In particular, the past several months saw international cooperation and coordination among nations and intergovernmental organizations increase and intensify.

The report also notes that the multilateral trading system has kept trade flowing, with the WTO playing a central role in ensuring that supply chains are kept open and restrictive trade policies are avoided.

The G20 economies implemented 140 trade and trade-related measures in the area of goods since the outbreak of the pandemic - 101 (72 percent) of a trade-facilitating nature and 39 (28 percent) of a trade-restrictive nature. The reduction or elimination of import tariffs and import taxes made up 60 percent of trade-facilitating measures taken, and certain G20 economies reduced their tariffs on a variety of goods such as PPE, sanitizers, disinfectants, medical equipment and medicine/drugs.