Bridging the digital divide.

• Author: Cancela, Jose Luis
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT

A century ago, when pandemic influenza struck a war-torn world, few multi-lateral institutions existed. Countries fought their common microbial enemy alone. Today, an array of multilateral mechanisms exists to confront global public health emergencies and address their economic, social, and political effects. The global nature of the current pandemic requires a global response. Let us make sure we leverage existing multilateral mechanisms to help fight the virus and overcome the current crisis.

The most acute health crisis in a century has provoked the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. The social and economic impact has already been tremendous: shrinking output, massive job losses and rising hunger. Years of hard-won development progress risk being reversed. An unprecedented crisis requires unprecedented solidarity in response--and this includes cooperation on trade.

The continuous and efficient flow of medical supplies, agricultural products and other goods and services across borders will be critical to an effective response, to help minimize global impacts on supply and demand, and particularly to help small businesses. Therefore, the multilateral trading system should work to minimize disruptions to cross-border trade and global supply chains, taking only specific, proportional, transparent and temporary emergency measures that are consistent with our obligations to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Keeping flows open and monitoring measures taken by governments is of systemic importance.

With so many challenges facing the international trading system it would be a mistake not to use the tools and bodies there to help solve them: an international forum on trade was hard-won and would be difficult to recreate. The coronavirus crisis demonstrates the value of common agreements on how to deal fairly with one another and prevent a race to the bottom.

Strengthen digital services

The COVID-19 pandemic confirms that connectivity is critical, which gives further impetus to the digital economy. Policies to improve affordability would clearly represent a huge leap forward in putting digital services within the reach of billions. In this post-digital age, not being connected means being shut out of employment, of education, of access to vital health care services and information--in short excluded from the full economic and social participation every citizen should enjoy.

Affordable, meaningful connectivity is a crucial step for engaging...