Coronavirus: border closures ‘may show what a full-blown trade war looks like’
- International Chamber of Commerce chief says moves to curb the contagion are having same impact on world economy as protectionism
- John Denton also calls on China to keep its market reform process going once the pandemic is over
Border closures aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus may offer a glimpse of what an all-out trade war would do to the world economy, according to the head of the International Chamber of Commerce.
“What you are seeing in a way is kind of an avatar for what happens with protectionism,” Denton said during an interview in Paris, where the ICC is based.
“You’re seeing borders being closed, goods being redirected, supply chains being redesigned, whole sectors of the economy feeling the impact of the closing of borders.
“And if you think about a full-blown trade war, that’s actually what happens,” he said. “I don’t speak in apocalyptic terms – all I’m saying is that it’s an interesting parallel to be drawn.”
The world’s biggest economy, the United States, has banned travellers from China and Europe, as President Donald Trump announced a national state of emergency last week.