medical sectors; other countries acted only on one side, either restricting trade or liberalizing it. Although many countries resorted to trade policy instruments, it is noteworthy that numerous countries did not resort to trade policy tools at all.

- There is also substantial heterogeneity across countries in the types of trade instruments used and the extent and speed with which crisis-motivated trade measures were removed.

The patterns of observed trade policy activism in response to the COVID-19 pandemic raise many questions regarding the determinants and underlying political economy of trade policy. We have suggested several areas for research using the data set and hope the data collection exercise will stimulate such research. Understanding the motives underlying choices in the design and implementation of trade policy responses to the pandemic, reflected in the substantial cross-country heterogeneity observed in the data, is one area. Another concerns quantification of the effects of different trade policy strategies, both for the world as a whole and for the countries concerned. The preliminary analysis reported above suggests that export bans increased international prices of critical medical goods, especially for PPE. A third policy research question the data can help address revolves around the broader question of the value of trade agreements. To what extent did countries comply with basic provisions of trade agreements calling for transparency, and for trade restrictions in response to emergencies to be temporary and necessary? These are just some of the research questions suggested by the stylized facts revealed by the data set. No doubt there are many others, including questions that are not directly related to trade.

# **References**

Baldwin, R. and S. Evenett (eds). 2020. _COVID-19 and Trade Policy: Why Turning Inward Won't Work_ , VoxEU.org eBook, CEPR Press. At: https://voxeu.org/content/covid-19-and-trade-policy-whyturning-inward-won-t-work

- Bown, C. 2020a. “Trump's trade policy is hampering the US fight against COVID-19,” March 13. https://www.piie.com/blogs/trade-and-investment-policy-watch/trumps-trade-policy-hampering-us-fightagainst-covid-19

- Bown, C. 2020b. “EU limits on medical gear exports put poor countries and Europeans at risk,” March 24. https://www.piie.com/blogs/trade-and-investment-policy-watch/eu-limits-medical-gear-exports-put-poorcountries-and

- Bown, C. 2020c. “COVID-19: Trump’s curbs on exports of medical gear put Americans and others at risk,” April 9. https://www.piie.com/blogs/trade-and-investment-policy-watch/covid-19-trumps-curbsexports-medical-gear-put-americans-and

- <mark>Dong E, H. Du and L. Gardner. 2020. An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time.</mark> _<mark>Lancet Inf Dis</mark>_ <mark>. 20(5): 533-34.</mark>

- Espitia, A., N. Rocha and M. Ruta. 2020a. “Trade and the COVID-19 crisis in developing countries,” at https://voxeu.org/article/trade-and-covid-19-crisis-developing-countries

- Espitia, A., N. Rocha and M. Ruta. 2020b. “COVID-19 and Food Protectionism: The Impact of the Pandemic and Export Restrictions on World Food Markets.” Policy Research Working Paper; No. 9253. World Bank, Washington, DC.

- Evenett, S. 2020. “Tackling COVID-19 Together: The Trade Policy Dimension,” _Global Trade Alert_ , March 23. At: https://www.globaltradealert.org/reports/51

- Fontagné, L., H. Guimbard and G. Orefice. 2019. “Product-Level Trade Elasticities.” CEPII working paper 2019-17.

- Hoekman, B. 2020. “COVID-19 Trade Policy Measures, G20 Declarations and WTO Reform,” “COVID-19 Trade Policy Measures, G20 Declarations and WTO Reform,” in S. Evenett and R.

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