Given their geographic situation, landlocked developing countries have been hit doubly hard by the cross-border processes implemented to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

This research provides a detailed explanation of the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the areas of international trade and transport adopted by the Governments of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and of Paraguay to limit the effects of the pandemic on trade operations and supply chains in their countries. It also provides a set of policy recommendations to preserve and improve trade facilitation and transport connectivity with transit countries in the framework of Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014–2024.

Given their small size and geographic isolation, Caribbean countries are highly reliant on trade and tourism as important sources of income and employment. Lockdowns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have left islands closed, airports without flights, hotels shuttered, cruise ships docked in ports and economies in crisis.

This research provides a detailed explanation of the responses to COVID-19 in the areas of international trade and transport adopted by English-speaking countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to limit the effects of the pandemic on trade operations and supply chains in the region. It also provides a set of policy recommendations to preserve and improve trade and transport connectivity in the Caribbean basin.

UNCTAD Trade Facilitation Section has developed a Crisis Response Package which aims to assist countries to mitigate socio-economic impacts during periods of crisis. 

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated attempts to contain its spread have created unprecedented hurdles to international trade. This paper reviews trade facilitation measures implemented in North and Central Asia (NCA), including transport and trade finance facilitation. All NCA countries have sought to protect the public health by restricting movement of people (including across borders) and applying special sanitary regulations at border crossings. These have included requirements to sanitize trucks, protect customs officials, change drivers, and requiring COVID-19 tests from drivers. Such requirements continue to create significant logistical issues, with often insufficient facilities for drivers. Sanitary requirements have proved simpler to implement for rail freight, creating an advantage for countries with well-developed rail networks. A number of common patterns emerge from the efforts of NCA countries to facilitate trade and transit.