U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs Myron Brilliant issued the following response to a joint statement from the governments of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Myanmar, New Zealand and Singapore today affirming their commitment to keeping trade lines open:
“As nations grapple with COVID-19 and its economic fallout, the Chamber welcomes commitments by governments such as these to keep trade lines open and ensure robust and connected supply chains.
“In the current public health crisis, trade connections by air, land, and sea remain vital to efforts to secure medical supplies and other essential goods. Governments must work together to ensure that cross-bordertrade can continue.
“In particular, the Chamber welcomes the pledge by these governments to refrain from export controls, tariffs, and non-tariff measures that threaten to impede the movement of essential goods, especially medicines and medical countermeasures and similar supplies.
“The ability of U.S. industry to deliver these supplies to hospitals and medical practitioners is threatened by such barriers. To date, the U.S. has laudably refrained from imposing export controls on these goods, and we urge the United States to continue to avoid such measures, which would immediately undermine U.S.-based production of medical supplies.
“The Chamber urges the members of the G20 meeting this week to match this pledge to ensure that all nations work together to respond to this pandemic.”
