In 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued an alarming prediction about the fall of the world trade due to the crisis caused by the pandemic of COVID-19. According to their estimates, the global exchange of goods and services would suffer a contraction unprecedented, reflecting the impact of the sanitary restrictions, the collapse of demand and the disruption of supply chains.

This collapse would be one of the worst scenarios in the history of international trade, with key sectors such as manufacturing, the automotive industry and the tourism severely affected. Although the WTO raised different recovery scenarios, warned that the speed and strength of the recovery would depend on the effectiveness of the economic policies adopted by governments and the evolution of the health crisis on a global level.