Leadership Insights Live: The Role of Maritime Trade in the Post-COVID Recovery – Europe Focus round-up

Shipping has a vital role to play in post pandemic recovery for the EU but must not be ignored in reforms to the bloc’s trade policy, said speakers at the latest Leadership Insights Live.

Underscoring the importance of the EU to global maritime trade, Guy Platten, International Chamber of Shipping’s Secretary General, noted that EU ports handled 824m tonnes of goods in the first quarter of 2021, with maritime trade accounting for 81% of goods traded to and from the region by volume.

However, protectionist measures are threatening to undermine boosts to global trade that could aid in economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange, said restrictions on trade were becoming more common globally, and export restrictions have risen during the pandemic.

“We are faced with a situation where this rules-based trading system is going to a more, let’s say power-based trading system, and this is not in our interest,” he said. “We have to resist against this tendency of power play in trade, sometimes really weaponising trade.”