Areas within the United States at the Highest Risk for African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, and Foot-and-Mouth Disease Introduction

Domestic livestock production is a major component of the agricultural sector, contributing to food security and human health and nutrition and serving as the economic livelihood for millions worldwide. The impact of disease on global systems and processes cannot be understated, as illustrated by the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic through economic and social system shocks and food system disruptions. This study outlines a method to identify the most likely sites of introduction into the United States for three of the most concerning foreign animal diseases: African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF), and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). We first created an index measuring the amount of potentially contaminated meat products entering the regions of interest using the most recently available Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Monitoring (AQIM) air passenger inspection dataset, the AQIM USPS/foreign mail, and the targeted USPS/foreign mail interception datasets. The risk of introduction of a given virus was then estimated using this index, as well as the density of operations of the livestock species and the likelihood of infected material contaminating the local herds. Using the most recently available version of the datasets, the most likely places of introduction for ASF and CSF were identified to be in central Florida, while FMD was estimated to have been most likely introduced to swine in western California and to cattle in northeastern Texas. The method illustrated in this study is important as it may provide insights on risk and can be used to guide surveillance activities and optimize the use of limited resources to combat the establishment of these diseases in the U.S.

Review: Innovate Textile & Apparel Companies adapt and flourish in unprecedented times

The year 2020 will be forever remembered in the textile industry for one overriding reason - the Covid-19 pandemic. Since March, industries across the entire textile supply chain have been rocked by factory closures, market declines, trade restrictions and the postponement of many of the trade shows that usually populate the textile calendar. WTiN's Innovate Textile & Apparel virtual trade show was first established to bring together a fragmented industry. The show opened its virtual doors to give an exhibition platform for companies from all areas of the supply chain to exhibit, showcase and even premiere some of the innovative products that had been in the pipeline for the cancelled trade shows. Dyeing and finishing was the most popular exhibitor sector at the trade show, illustrating the industry's adaptive nature, popularity and prominence in textile innovation. In total, 42 companies had selected the sector as their primary tag in the trade show portal, each of which promoted a collection of unique products and solutions. © 2020 World Textile Information Network. All rights reserved.

Economic Interventionism and International Trade Law in the Covid Era

Economic interventionism in the form of subsidization and operation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is today among the main frontlines of international trade conflicts. Along with trade restrictions and new legislation designed to impact cross-border investment, mergers, and acquisitions, the use of subsidies and countervailing measures by governments and trade-distorting effects of SOEs have lately caused harsh controversies within and outside the World Trade Organization (WTO) between its members. Going forward, there are reasons to expect these tensions to intensify rather than diminish in number and importance. This Special Issue aims at examining the development of international trade rules regulating state interventionism against the background of the Covid-19 global pandemic and present shifts in global geopolitics and the economy. This introduction, in presenting the state of the art on the questions tackled by this Special Issue and highlighting its contribution to existing literature on the topic, offers different considerations aimed at bringing together various trends emerging from the Articles contained in this Special Issue. It also explores avenues for further research and reflection.

The Covid 19 Exogenous Shock and the Crafting of New Multilateral Trade Rules on Subsidies and State Enterprises in the Post-Pandemic World

This Article discusses existing WTO rules on subsidies and state enterprises, relevant caselaw and reform prospects in light of key geopolitical developments and changes in the global economy emerging in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Following a general introduction, the Article critically analyzes present WTO rules on industrial subsidies, focusing inter alia on the new problems raised by activist industrial policies pursued by global trading powers, foreign subsidization, the climate change shock and environmental exigencies. It then shifts attention to the application of WTO rules on subsidies to the state sector and the increasing demands for new international trade rules on non-subsidies measures to address the negative spillover effects on trade from government influence on state-owned enterprises (SOEs). With respect to each of these matters, the Article first clarifies the terms of the problem in relation to existing WTO rules and caselaw, and next examines the question of how, and to what extent, "deeper” free trade agreements (FTAs)—those that experts designate as models for WTO reforms on the matter—establish new rules that permit to adequately address the trade concerns raised by SOEs' commercial and financial activities. Based on this multi-layered analysis, the article concludes by examining prospects of reform of WTO rules on state interventionism.

Does COVID-19 reduce international cooperation in supply chain research between the US and China?

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to systematically analyze the existing literature of the supply chain to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the international cooperation in supply chain research between the US and China.Design/methodology/approachSupply chain publications obtained from the Scopus database were analyzed using statistical technique and visual analysis. First, created three datasets of supply chain publications for three time periods: 2010–2019, 2015–2019 and 2020–2021. Then, compared the changes in international cooperation in supply chain research between the US and China before and during the epidemic, as well as the international cooperation patterns for the two countries.FindingsThe study found that during the pandemic, the average monthly number of collaborative publications between China and the US on supply chain research was higher than the five and the ten years before the epidemic. In other words, the epidemic has not led to a decline in international cooperation between the US and China. On the contrary, the epidemic has stimulated international cooperation on supply chain research in the two countries. Secondly, research on the international cooperation patterns of supply chain research shows that China and the US have always been each other's largest partners, and the two countries have generally maintained or increased international cooperation with their top research producing countries during the epidemic. In addition, in supply chain research during the epidemic, the proportion of US–China cooperation in China's international cooperation has declined, while that of the US has increased.Research limitations/implicationsThe time span of the datasets used to analyze the research status before and during COVID-19 is different. Due to the nature of data collection, available time of the dataset during COVID-19 is much shorter. Publications during the COVID-19 continue to grow, and the trends shown by the research results may change somewhat. Furthermore, the search query may not be comprehensive enough to capture all publications related to the supply chain.Practical implicationsThe research results help determine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on international cooperation in US–China supply chain research, and it is of great significance to researchers and policymakers in the field of logistics and supply chain operations.Originality/valueThis study gives a feasible analysis strategy for international cooperative research, which adds great value to this field.

Trends in rice research: 2030 and beyond

Rice production and research have met unprecedented challenges in recent years. Yield and total production have plateaued for many years in some major producing rice-producing countries while the demand from populations in poverty is ever increasing. For example, more than 100 million additional people became extremely poor, mostly from Asia and sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 alone. Rice is not only the calorie source for half of the global population but also the key staple food for the world's poorest and undernourished people living in Asia and Africa. In this review, we have analysed the trends in rice research in the past three decades, particularly on the mega-projects that attempted to revolutionize rice yield, sustainability and quality of both Asian (Oryza sativa) and African (O. glaberrima) rice, with their impact on rice cultivation. We have also analysed the trends in population growth, rice cultivation, production, price and consumption along with their projections for 2030 and beyond. Furthermore, we have analysed recent trends in variety release using Bangladesh as an example. Finally, we have identified the future challenges and priorities of rice research.

Supply chain insights from social media users' responses to panic buying during COVID-19: the herd mentality

Purpose>This study applied the herd mentality theory to explore local and global social media users' responses to panic buying across the USA, UK and Australia during the COVID-19 crisis to understand the implications on operations and supply chains.Design/methodology/approach>A total of 208,806 social media user-generated content (UGC) pieces were collected from Twitter in three countries – the USA, UK and Australia. The analysis of this big qualitative data was performed using machine learning–based software – Leximancer.Findings>Positive and negative sentiment towards panic buying during the COVID-19 crisis was observed in the UGC. No significant differences in social media UGC sentiment between the three countries were found;however, differences did exist in key themes. This suggests that the focus, not the sentiment, of consumers' responses to panic buying differed across countries. Social media users follow their location-based and topic-consonant social "herd”, rather than the global "herd”.Research limitations/implications>This study was the first to show that social media users' herd mentality differs in a crisis. The herd mentality of social networks is dependent on factors such as the geographic location of the social network (herd), which can differ from the global herd's reaction, specifically in terms of topics evident in UGC.Practical implications>Operations and supply chain managers need to include social media UGC analysis in their strategies in crisis management responses. The topics, not the sentiment, of consumers' responses to panic buying require managerial actions.Originality/value>This is the first study to show that herd mentality during a crisis, such as COVID-19, is not unidimensional and varies according to the location of the social media network with profound implications for operations and supply chain managers.

Roles of trade logistics to the development of international trade: A perspective of Nigeria

Background: Trade logistics service delivery is a key aspect in a country's economic success in both national and international trade activities. It is critical in attaining competitive advantages for businesses actively involved in international trade. The improvement of services, infrastructure and logistics has helped to reduce delays and cost in cross-border goods transactions, resulting in a considerable growth in international trade. Objective: The study investigates the contribution of trade logistics service delivery to the growth of international trade. Overall improvement of logistics services could be a significant step towards long-term facilitation of trade. Methods: Respondents were given questionnaires using a simple random selection technique. Structural equation modelling was then used to examine the structural relationships among variables that had been assessed. Findings: The results reveal that the delivery of trade logistics services has a substantial impact on trade development. Improving the logistics industry also allows for increased trade volume. Conclusion: It was suggested that governments, specifically middle-income nations, explore trade performance measurements in order to better enhance the exports and imports processes as well as to efficiently and effectively boost trade through the optimisation of the supply chain management.

Probing into Economic Development Studies in the Post-COVID Era

Unfortunately, despite the international community's efforts to combat poverty and inequality, both parameters have been on the rise recently. [...]there is a strong need to find a workable (and appropriate in these new conditions) resolution to poverty problems to avoid a global crisis. The new reality of poverty and inequality issues should be addressed by studying global income disparities and possible ways to bridge gaps between poorer and wealthier countries (and people within countries) by promoting innovations, technologies, human capital development, agrarian systems, and social entrepreneurship. The particular focus should be made on the new challenges to sustainable development brought by the growth of global environmental and public health problems, such as climate change, deterioration of air, water, land, and other resources, reduction of biodiversity, and loss of many natural ecosystems.

Stealing From the Poor: Regulating Robinhood's Exchange-Traded Options for Retails Investors

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Robinhood, a brokerage-free stock trading app, saw a meteoric rise in account holders, with Americans seeking new income streams during times of economic hardship, unemployment, and, at times, sheer boredom.1 The ensuing trading activity significantly impacted the country's stock market-a result of not only Robinhood's three million new accounts2 but also their investment in complex financial instruments known as exchange-traded options.3 Notably, several stocks experienced seemingly illogical price and trading volume increases, leading to unsustainable price bubbles, dramatic increases in price volatility, and eventually crashes.4 Robinhood's options trading platform was the primary vehicle for this trading activity,5 allowing investors to trade beyond their financial means, or perhaps more aptly, gamble on future prices. The trading activity highlighted two significant problems with allowing retail investors to invest in exchangetraded options: their failure to fundamentally comprehend the financial instrument and, consequently, their significant losses. Numerous regulatory responses may address these problems, each focusing on a potential contributing level: (1) retail investors;(2) the exchange-traded option;and (3) Robinhood. This Note aims to analyze five potential responses, ranging from least interventionist to most: increasing mandatory disclosure requirements, product regulation, conduct regulation of Robinhood as a broker-dealer, conduct regulation of Robinhood as a trading platform, and restriction of access to the product by retail investors. While each of these options has its inherent benefits and costs, this Note ultimately advocates that the appropriate response to curb Robinhood options trading by retail investors is to regulate Robinhood's conduct as a trading platform by establishing affirmative duties on it that seek to protect its retail customer base, particularly in light of the nature and structure of its execution of trades orders from clients.

Trade policies, firm strategies, and adaptive reconfigurations of global value chains

The recent U.S.–China trade conflicts cast new light on the role of trade policies in global value chains (GVCs). Contrary to the expectation that trade restrictions lead to the shrinking or disruption of GVCs, our article posits that the unintended consequences of trade policies (both restrictions and trade agreements) are amplified by the prevalence and organizational complexity of GVCs. We anchor our argument in the historical evolution of three classic GVCs – apparel, automobiles, and electronics – from the 1970s to the present. Our framework highlights the dynamic interaction between GVC-oriented trade policies and firm strategies, which often has counterintuitive implications in terms of upgrading outcomes for the countries and companies involved in these GVCs. While trade policies often provide momentum for an adaptive reconfiguration of GVCs, firms’ strategic actions are crucial in modifying the geographic and organizational features of GVCs in ways that support their longevity. Firm strategies can mediate the effect of trade policies on GVC configurations in two ways: (1) firms can accommodate trade restrictions and trade agreements by altering supply and demand locations and by switching supply-chain partners;and (2) firms pursue diverse strategies to upgrade their value chain activities, leveraging the shifting geographies associated with new trade rules.

REVISITING THE LEGALITY OF TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW DURING COVID-19

Under the International Health Regulations (IHR), States must consider decision-making criteria in applying travel restrictions during a public health emergency of international concern. Interpretation on the legal parameters of such restrictions varies widely. This article considers whether and how the permissibility of travel restrictions under the IHR may have changed given recent developments, including evolving scientific evidence about their efficacy and shifting World Health Organization (WHO) advice. It is argued that such determinations must conform to the principles of necessity and proportionality as articulated by the IHR, and must also be accompanied by the correlative IHR duties of collaboration and assistance rooted substantively in global solidarity.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and International Trade: Temporary Turbulence or Paradigm Shift?

Global financial transactions as well as information and communications technology services have also declined significantly.6 Moreover, according to the recent United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) assessment, which is actually based on conservative assumptions, the COVID-19 outbreak will cause global foreign direct investments (service mode 3) to shrink by 5–15% in 2020.7 The demand side has also been affected as consumers around the globe are unwilling at the moment to spend their money. In particular, some countries have decided to establish export controls over certain medical products (eg medical ventilators, certain drugs, personal protective equipment) in the form of temporary export bans or the addition of licensing/authorisation requirements.8 Other countries, concerned with the security of their food supplies, have introduced export restrictions over specific agricultural products, and these decisions have generated genuine concerns about potential food shortages in the global market in the second part of the year.9 The problem appears sufficiently serious that it has led to a joint statement by the Directors-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization (WTO), in which they noted that “uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of [additional] export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market”. [...]a number of states have recently removed or suspended some trade controls. [...]Argentina has suspended its anti-dumping duties on imports of certain medical products from China, while Canada has temporarily eliminated tariffs for specific categories of products if they are imported by public health agencies, hospitals and testing sites, or for use by first-response organisations.11 The aim of all of these measures is to ensure that there are sufficient supplies to domestic markets (either by decreasing exports or increasing imports).

Trump Ended WTO Dispute Settlement. Trade Remedies are Needed to Fix it

Unhappy with the rulings of the WTO dispute settlement system, which disproportionately targeted US use of trade remedies, the United States ended the entire system in 2019. There are multiple hurdles to agreeing to new terms of trade remedy use and thus potentially restoring some form of binding dispute settlement. First, a change would affect access to policy flexibility by the now large number of users of trade remedies. Second, although China's exports are the overwhelming target of trade remedies, exporters in other countries increasingly find themselves caught up in trade remedy actions linked to China. Third, critical differences posed by China's economic model may call for new rules for trade remedies, but no consensus on those rules has emerged. Even some of the most promising reforms have practical limitations, create additional challenges, or may be politically unviable.

Short-Term Speculation Effects on Agricultural Commodity Returns and Volatility in the European Market Prior to and during the Pandemic

Motivated by increased agricultural commodity price volatility and surges during the past decade, we investigated whether financial speculation is to blame. The aim of this paper is to build on prior research about to what extent and in which ways financial speculation undermines agricultural commodity prices. In our analysis, we utilized the daily returns on milling wheat, corn, and soybean futures from the Euronext Commodities Paris market (MATIF) as well as the short-term speculation index. To quantify this impact, we apply Granger noncausality tests as well as the GARCH (generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity) technique. We also propose a model using seasonal dummy variables to examine whether financial speculation has a greater impact on price volatility during more volatile months. According to our results, financial speculation, as an external factor, in most cases has no effect or reduces the volatility of the underlying futures prices. The opposite is observed in the corn market, where volatility has risen in the post-2020 period and has been pushed up even more by speculation in April. However, since the influence on other commodities is limited or nonexistent, more emphasis should be focused on speculation in the European corn futures market or its interdependence with energy markets.

Guest editorial: International business in times of global disruption

[...]of global pandemic, the governments were pushed to adapt their trade policies, which changed the landscape of business and put a lot of pressure on and disrupted global supply chains (GSC) and global value chain (GVC) (Sharma et al., 2020). [...]organizations’ responses to the global pandemic need to be able to deal with uncertain and continuously changing rules, regulations and socio-economic environment (Ahlstrom et al., 2020). [...]the interplay between formal and informal institutions is crucial to understand. The relevance of disruption to change in cross-border operations has been studied, e.g. from a risk management perspective (Revilla and Sáenz, 2014), considering the organization of global supply chains (Revilla and Sáenz, 2017).

Does Information-and-Communication-Technology Market Openness Promote Digital Service Exports?

ICT has become an important support for the booming trade in services in the digital era. However, the extent to which trade activities can benefit from ICT will depend on the regulatory constraints and the market-openness level of the ICT market. This study empirically examines the impact of ICT market openness on digital service exports on the basis of bilateral trade data at the industry level from 2007 to 2019 from 50 countries. The results show that: (1) ICT market openness seeks the combination of effective regulation and moderate openness, which is mainly reflected in three policy areas: improving information interconnection and sharing, reducing access restrictions and promoting fair competition;(2) The ICT market openness in both exporting and importing countries can significantly boost digital service exports, but in different ways. Exporting countries expand digital service exports mainly by promoting fair competition, while importing countries have the most obvious positive impact on exports through the reduction of access restrictions;(3) The greater the gap between the ICT development levels, and the lower the bilateral risk levels between the two trading countries, the greater the marginal effect that ICT market openness will have on the promotion of digital service exports. Thus, improving market openness indicates an important direction for ICT regulatory reform, but the impact on digital service exports will vary by specific policy area and by trading-partner country.

The EU Market in Times of a Global State of Emergency: Internal and External Trade Barriers in the Age of Pandemics

This article explores the immediate reaction of the EU and its Member States to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Europe in terms of trade restrictions. Almost all Member States adopted export control measures on personal protective equipment (PPE) essential to combat the pandemic in order to preserve it for the domestic market. The trade barriers affected the intra-EU trade as well as the external trade with third countries. The article explores whether and to what extent these restrictive measures on exports within the internal market may be justified on grounds of the protection of health and life of humans, as allowed by Article 36 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It will be argued that the consolidated case law justifying a Member State facing health emergencies to adopt restrictive measures to protect the population on its territory is not suitable in case of pandemics. The degree of market integration and the rising concept of health solidarity as an EU objective allow a different interpretation of the health exception assuming as term of reference the whole EU population. The article further analyses the export authorization scheme adopted by the Commission to allow restrictions on exports of PPE to third countries in case of shortages in essential goods in the Union. The article concludes by suggesting a preventive EU mechanism of control of intra-EU export restrictions in case of serious cross-border threats to health, similar to the export authorization scheme for extra EU exports, in order to avoid unilateral and disjointed responses by Member States in the future. © 2021 Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

COVID-19 test-kit trade and trade policy: Implications for developing countries.

At the centre of the multi-dimensional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of medical supplies in countries with weaker healthcare systems significantly reduced the effectiveness of national and international public health interventions. Using a database of test-kit trade flows and barriers, we estimate the price responsiveness of test-kit demand in a global sample of countries. These estimates allow us to investigate the degree to which import tariffs by leading producers could result in a disruption in global supply chains, price increases, and welfare loss. Simulation experiments indicate that the combination of rising demand for test kits and import dependence magnifies the impact of trade barriers on consumer welfare and this impact is more profound for developing countries.