Impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) on trade in manufactured goods examined
5 May 2020
The International Trade Committee continues its inquiry examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a session focusing on UK trade in manufactured goods.
- Watch Parliament TV: The COVID-19 pandemic and international trade
- Inquiry: The COVID-19 pandemic and international trade
- International Trade Committee
Witnesses
Wednesday 6 May 2020, witnesses and committee members will participate remotely
At 2.30pm
Panel 1
- Stephen Phipson, Chief Executive, Make UK
- Dr Carlos López-Gomez, Head of Policy Links, Institute of Manufacturing, University of Cambridge
- Elizabeth De Jong, Head of Policy, Freight Transport Association
Panel 2
- Mike Hawes, Chief Executive, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
- Paul Alger MBE, International Business Director, UK Fashion and Textile Association
- Philip Law, Director General, British Plastics Federation
Disruption to global trade
Illness and ‘lockdown' measures have together caused unprecedented disruption to global trade. Manufacturing has been particularly affected, experiencing simultaneous ‘shocks' to supply chains, patterns of demand (with both spikes and contractions) and normal production operations.
The World Trade Organization has estimated that world merchandise trade will fall by between 13% and 32% in 2020.
First panel
In this session, the Committee will first consider the impact of the pandemic on global and UK trade in manufactured goods, and the UK Government's policy responses.
The Committee will hear from Make UK (which represents UK manufacturing), the Freight Transport Association (on behalf of the UK logistics sector) and the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge.
Second panel
The second panel will focus on three key UK manufacturing sectors: automotive, fashion and textiles, and plastics, with representatives from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the UK Fashion and Textile Association, and the British Plastics Federation.
The Committee will discuss how each sector has been affected by the pandemic, focusing particularly on how supply chains have been disrupted, how this has been mitigated by the actions taken by Government and industry, and how to build future supply-chain resilience.
Further information
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