UNCTAD: COVID-19 drives large international trade declines in 2020

UNCTAD: COVID-19 drives large international trade declines in 2020. “According to [United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]’s latest nowcasts (run on 8.12.2020), the value of global merchandise trade is predicted to fall by 5.6% in 2020 compared with last year. This would be the biggest fall in merchandise trade since 2009, when trade fell by 22%. This is a significantly more optimistic nowcast than only a few weeks ago when UNCTAD nowcasts were estimating a fall of 9%.”