Problems in International Trade: What to Watch out for in 2021?

The year 2020 will be remembered for ages by the entire world for obvious reasons and the pandemic continues to persist in current times as well. With the unprecedented advent of corona virus pandemic and issues like supply chain crisis, international trade faced many problems.

As per the Import Export Data Online the global trade has been at the forefront of crucial points in the history and will continue to dominate the international scene as the demand and supply dynamics evolve.

The year 2021 was perceived as period of recovery for economies around the world. However, there are issues in the international trade that are required to be focussed on.

1. Brexit Deal: Dealing with Brexit has been challenging right from the start. This deal was was approved by the European Union in the year 2021. There were concerns that how well the current British government will carry out the two vital documents of Brexit – The trade and cooperation agreement and the withdrawal agreement. Also, the European parliament has expressed doubts about the misuse or undermining of the complex negotiations by Britain like the one on fishing right and Northern Ireland protocol. As per the Ivory Coast Import Data, Ivory Coast the world’s largest producer of cocoa beans will witness the decline in the sales of cocoa beans because of Brexit.

2. Digital Trade and E-Commerce: Digital trade is a boon of the modern world and the rise of ecommerce. The digital revolution has made the world smaller and helped people survive the pandemic. However concerns about the safety of digital trade, accessibility etc arises. The trade community will have to find ways to help business entities explore more opportunities with digital trade and e-commerce.

3. Supply Chain Crisis: Pandemic has resulted in supply chain crisis all across the globe because of lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions. Societies fear a shortage of most essential supplies like food and medicines. It is important to manage the risks by making the supply chain resilient and diverse. Because of the fact an increased demand blended with supply chain disruptions has significant global dimensions. Many businesses rely on imports, including countries that are far behind in their vaccination drive and also face aggressive resurgence of virus including India. With pandemic many organizations have made them digital empowered. So reopening is not a big deal for them. But issues are that such companies are in minority and others have high dependency on supply chains and ecosystems.

4. Climate Change: The massive expansion of global trade due to technological developments has benefitted the society. It is important to note that it has contributed towards environmental issues. Businesses have realized the long term benefit of green logistics and so they are resorting to aspects like bringing down waste in supply chain to minimize cost of production, thus adding their brand value in the global acumen.