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Trade

The links between trade and health extend back to the earliest human settlements, but globalization has brought these spheres together as never before. This section examines the issues that have led to an even closer intersection between trade and health, asks how they impact the poor, and explores the tensions that arise between the goals of protecting and promoting health and generating wealth through trade.

Trade

29.3%

Goods and services exports as share of global GDP

Goods and services exports as share of global GDP Goods and services exports as share of global GDP

48%

Developing country share of global trade, 2014

Developing country share of global trade, 2014 Developing country share of global trade, 2014

50

Preferential trade agreements, in 1990

Preferential trade agreements, in 1990 Preferential trade agreements, in 1990

301

Preferential trade agreements in 2019

Preferential trade agreements in 2019 Preferential trade agreements in 2019

1995

Founding of World Trade Organization (WTO)

Founding of World Trade Organization (WTO) Founding of World Trade Organization (WTO)

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Trade
A drug addict uses a glass water pipe to smoke methamphetamine at an undisclosed drug den in Manila, Philippines, on June 20, 2016. The photo is a closeup of a man smoking from a glass pipe. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo

Coronavirus is a Public Health Nightmare—Now Comes One More
by A. Taylor Thomas, Emily Briskin - July 2, 2020

As the pandemic chokes off opioid supplies from China and unemployment skyrockets, U.S. meth addiction is set to explode

Trade
Masks are seen on a production line manufacturing masks at a factory in Shanghai, China January 31, 2020. New York City alone could face a shortage of millions of masks in the coming months. The image shows a human hand with two bright orange bandaids on the thumb and middle finger picking its way across a huge pile of masks. REUTERS/Aly Song

A Truce in the Trade War Will Save American Lives

by Susan Shirk, Yanzhong Huang

Immediately lifting all tariffs on personal protection equipment will enable doctors and nurses to safely do their work

Trade
Virtual shoppers: mannequins are pictured in the middle of a corridor at a closed shopping mall amid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia March 31, 2020. This is a powerful photo of an intriguing subject matter—a bunch of mannequins stacked up in the middle of a corridor. REUTERS/Fransiska Nangoy

Global Health Surveillance in an Internet Age

by Rohini Rajgopal

Let's come up with a sophisticated surveillance system for predicting local disease outbreaks based on consumer behavior

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The "Fearless Girl" statue is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange following first trading session since its March coronavirus lockdown in the Manhattan borough of New York City on May 26, 2020. The photo shows the statue with a huge American flag in the background. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Trade

Patent Pools and the Pandemic—A Renewed Debate

by Bashar Malkawi

In light of COVID-19 we need to revisit patent pools and their potential for pro-competitive and anticompetitive effects

Is this the stuff vaccines are made of? This publicity photo shows two samples of a vaccine against COVID-19, capped in Russian colors, at the Gamaleya Research Institute in Moscow on August 6, 2020. Picture shows two vials, one with a red cap and one with a blue. REUTERS/Russian Direct Investment Fund
Trade

Vaccine Dreams and Russian Reality

by Judy Twigg

Putin's gamble on an untested cure has high stakes—it could pay off if it actually works but will cost lives if it fails

A drug addict uses a glass water pipe to smoke methamphetamine at an undisclosed drug den in Manila, Philippines, on June 20, 2016. The photo is a closeup of a man smoking from a glass pipe. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo
Trade

Coronavirus is a Public Health Nightmare—Now Comes One More

by A. Taylor Thomas, Emily Briskin

As the pandemic chokes off opioid supplies from China and unemployment skyrockets, U.S. meth addiction is set to explode