Foreword

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the world economy. Mobility restrictions, imposed by governments anxious to contain the virus, have profoundly impacted the networks of complex production-sharing known as global value chains. However, these networks were under pressure even before the pandemic. A general stagnation in the pace of globalization has persisted since the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, punctuated at times by trade disputes.