Baker McKenzie has launched the new COVID-19 Product Import/Export Review (“COVID-19 PIER“), a multijurisdictional tracker that will help companies stay on top of export restrictions and import measures related to products in actual or feared short supply during the pandemic. As companies seek to protect their personnel and reopen safely, they may find it challenging to navigate a complex and rapidly changing global patchwork of export and import measures relating to personal protective equipment, other medical items, and sometimes other products such as food. With a few simple clicks, COVID-19 PIER allows companies to view jurisdiction-specific measures and provides contact details of our local international trade experts. For information on additional COVID-19 measures governments are enacting, please see our COVID-19 Government Interventions Schemes Guide.
We are pleased to announce the launch of Baker McKenzie’s COVID-19 Product Import/Export Review (“COVID-19 PIER”) tool. This tool is a multijurisdictional tracker that provides information on import and export measures imposed around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. New jurisdictions will be added as we continuously update the information in the tool.
The past few months have seen an exponential increase in the demand for personal protective equipment (“PPE”), medical supplies, and other products, along with actual or feared shortages in some of those same products. To address this mismatch, many jurisdictions have employed a mix of a “carrot” approach (relaxing import duties and product regulatory requirements to facilitate the importation of these products) and a “stick” approach (imposing export restrictions prohibiting the exportation of these products). The resulting patchwork of jurisdiction-specific measures is fast-changing, as exemplified by the European Commission’s most recent lift of an export ban on PPE introduced just two months ago, while a number of EU member states still maintain their own national export restrictions.
COVID-19 PIER will be useful for companies that are engaged in the commercial manufacture and export of PPE and other affected products, as well as by companies looking to procure these items for export to their own offices around the world as part of their recovery planning and reopening strategies to keep their personnel healthy and safe at work.
The tool is easy to navigate. Simply select the exporting and importing jurisdiction(s) to view user-friendly and regularly updated information on the current import and export measures that have been implemented in response to the pandemic. You may also view contact details for our local experts. With one click you can generate and download a PDF report. A step-by-step quick reference guide can be accessed by clicking here.
Please contact us if you wish to learn more about the measures and how they can affect your business.
