The current financial and economic crisis is having a significant impact on trade volumes and revenue, because of falling global demand and a tightening of trade financing. The slowing of global trade is particularly daunting for those countries that depend on export-led growth. Low-income economies, and particularly those resource-dependent economies with a high share of primary products to total exports, will feel the consequence of the crisis more significantly through trade channels.

Although trade is projected to decline as the global economic downturn worsens, and will recover slowly with the world economy, it is less clear what role trade policy can play in either addressing the immediate crisis or in supporting the implementation of the Global Green New Deal. As trade was not the underlying cause of the current economic crisis, it is doubtful that changes in trade policy, at least in the short term, will be able to reverse the current economic climate. Despite this caveat, one clear opportunity may be to focus on new trade financing and trade facilitation financing packages in order to promote the initiatives outlined in the GGND. There is also a strong argument for ensuring that trade policies “do no harm” in the short term through the adoption of protectionist measures. Finally, trade policy will have a critical role over the medium term in promoting some of the key components of the GGND.