Natural disasters and trade research: Study II

This report surveys the scope that exists under World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements for Members to take trade measures in support of:

• Disaster response (i.e. in the immediate aftermath of a disaster event);
• Disaster recovery (i.e. for the restoration of assets, systems and activities within a disaster- affected economy); and
• Disaster resilience (i.e. actions to support the ability of an economy to withstand future shocks).

The analysis focuses on disasters arising from geological or geophysical hazards (originating from internal earth processes) and hydro- geological hazards of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic origin. Together these hazards are referred to as natural hazards or disasters in the text. The report identifies measures that Members can take, as well as those from which they should refrain. And it does so both from the perspective of measures that can be taken by a disaster- affected Member towards the imports of foreign suppliers of goods and services; and measures that can be taken by the trading partner(s) of a disaster-affected Member.