Essay Sample on International Business Diplomacy After Coronavirus Pandemic

Introduction

The world has been hardly hit by Coronavirus pandemic compared to other viruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Coronavirus pandemic has proved to be a humanitarian crisis on a global scale. It has not only changed our ways of living but has also affected international relations and caused diplomatic tensions across the world. It may seem like inconsequential inconveniences that may fade off sooner, but these changes have substantial implications for peace, human war, and to an extent, could be matters of war. The diplomatic relations have been immensely affected majorly due to the pressures around trade and transport of medical types of equipment, medicines, and diagnostic tests for the COVID-19. Therefore, this paper will discuss and analyze how Coronavirus has and will affect international business diplomacy.

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The World Trade Organization has been among many international organizations that have been forced to cancel, postpone, or even in some cases suspend vital conferences amid COVID-19 pandemic. The trade agency canceled several of its meetings after one of its staff came tested positive and came into contact with almost 30 ambassadors during a conference hosted by the Chinese government (Lynch & Gramer, 2020).

The Coronavirus pandemic has distressed the international trade and global value chains due to the restrictions and country lock-down and has stopped vital economic activities within the merchandise spectrum. With China being the central manufacturing hub of uncountable global business operations, a substantial registered decline in its output is a glimpse of the affected global economy. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2020), a critical production index correlated with exports fell by 22 points. This fall in production levels denotes that most of the China factories where production and exportation of several overseas products take a central place are either closed or have cut down the production process due to either less demand from the countries that rely on China for exports or may be due to strict trade restrictions by these countries. During the last two decades, China has been vital to the global economy not only because of its status as the manufacturer and exporter but also as the supplier of intermediate inputs for the manufacturing companies across the world. The significant disruption in China's supply due to COVID-19 has substantially affected producers in the rest of the world. UNICTAD further suggests that some of the nations whose value chains are likely to be affected are European nations, Taiwan, the United States, and Japan.

The Coronavirus pandemic is likely to cause a vast global economic recession following the rise in unemployment. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has estimated a rise in global unemployment of between 5.3 million and 24.7 million from a base level of 188 million in the year 2019 ("International Economics," 2020). The rise in unemployment can be attributed to lay-offs and retrenchment by companies. Businesses, especially in the hospitality and travel industry, have been primarily hit by the epidemic due to lock-downs and are not able to maintain all the workers and still pay them. To an extent, some have been forced to close down to counter the spread of the deadly virus. If this will not be addressed, the continuous rise in unemployment in its turn will distress consumption, creating a vicious cycle of low production-low consumption, which is likely to make the global economic growth fall from 2.5% to 0.5% ("International Economics," 2020).The Coronavirus pandemic has distorted beggar-thy-neighbor trade policies, which has majorly affected the business diplomatic relations ("International Economics," 2020). Due to the shortages of essential resources to fight the epidemic, many countries are slowly turning to mercantilist forms of protectionism. Following the WTO multilateral agreements, many countries across the globe have adopted trade-related measures such as export bans to address the soon-to-be- shortage of medical supplies. These export bans are affecting the countries with weak manufacturing systems and cannot afford to produce these medical types of equipment and medicines independently. Other bans that have been experienced are travel bans that have majorly hit the airlines. On the other hand, the flights have become extremely expensive, leading to reduced travels, which has hit the hospitality and tourism industry. If this is not addressed, many airline companies are likely to close down entirely due to financial strain that is rising every day.

Recommendations

Against this background, the countries across the world should keep economies and international trade flowing by ensuring the supply of essential products is not primarily affected by the pandemic. To keep the trade across nations flowing will require cooperation and trust such that the countries will not impose export restrictions, markets will supply essentials, and the imports will not pose health risks.

To address the soon-to-be global economic recession, the governments should initiate financial help by employment plans for fired workers to revive the commercial supremacy. For international, the countries should set up a sisterhood relation and make an exchange worker program. The countries that are short of staff can source from countries with qualified and unemployed individuals.

To address many business diplomatic tensions, the countries should first acknowledge that total lock-down is not a solution to the Coronavirus epidemic. Countries should stop placing themselves under lock-down and give emergency disaster support funds to the citizens to expand the products constructively because the economic activities need to be lively for vigorous commerce. Further, the government should create more awareness of Coronavirus's measures and risks and prepare people to adapt to the new normal without necessarily closing the economy. The governments should restore the tourism industry by disinfecting the touring spot and most importantly run adverts to guide people on the necessary measures to adopt in these spots.

Conclusion

While some countries have adopted blockade in trade, the reality is that the world will require a trade to overcome the Coronavirus pandemic since no country is self-sufficient, no matter how advanced it is. Therefore, every nation should ensure to maintain healthy business diplomatic relations and keep trade flowing.

References

Lynch, C., Gramer, R. (2020, March 12). Global Diplomacy Grinds to Halt on Infection Fears. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/12/global-diplomacy-halt-coronavirus-covid-infection-fears/

International Economics. (2020, March 31). CEO Insights- The Impact of Coronavirus on Global Business and Trade. International Economics. https://www.tradeeconomics.com/economic-impact-trade-covid-19/

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2020, March 04). Global Trade Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Epidemic. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditcinf2020d1.pdf