Export restrictions and supply shortages: How COVID-19 reshaped the global trade of medical equipment between the EU, the USA, and China.

The aim of this thesis is to show how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced global trade in medical goods among the European Union (EU), the United States of America (USA), and China from 2019 to 2023. Moreover, it examines how export restrictions have disrupted trade and exposed vulnerabilities of concentrated supply chains. The study covers trade volumes, describes price fluctuations during the years 2020-2022, and examines changes in trade dependence in the pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and personal protective equipment (PPE) sectors. It covers the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Firstly, the pre-pandemic structure of the medical goods market in 2019, then the 2020 COVID-19 shock, followed by shortages and market reactions. Then presents changes in the structure of trade in 2021 and 2022, and lastly describes the WTO's response and post-pandemic adjustments through 2023. Moreover, it highlights China's strengthened role as a global supplier, the EU's pursuit of strategic autonomy and industrial policy, and the United States' reshoring of medical manufacturing. The analysis shows how the COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed the way medical goods are traded, highlighting weaknesses in how crises are managed through trade policies. In the end, it offers valuable lessons for global trade governance, such as the need for clearer WTO rules, increased transparency, better cooperation, and the importance of developing resilient and diversified supply chains.