US Report Shows Pandemic’s Toll On International Trade

Law360 (September 7, 2021, 6:30 PM EDT) — Both global services and merchandise trade dropped as COVID-19 spread around the planet, the U.S. International Trade Commission said in the annual trade profile it released Tuesday.

In its annual trade report to Congress, the ITC reported that as the virus took hold, global services trade dropped from $12.1 trillion in 2019 to $9.8 trillion in 2020, or 19%, with the travel and transport services sectors experiencing the largest declines.

“The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant, negative impact on global services trade in 2020,” the agency said.

According to the report, the business, financial and telecommunications services sectors also experienced declines….