COVID-19, Peruvian foreign trade and lessons to be learned

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed shortcomings in the operational logistics of Peruvian foreign trade related to the non-articulated use of technological instruments, a situation that did not allow cross-cutting and efficient interaction between the different links in the chain.

This is despite the fact that, for over a decade, Peru has been undergoing important regulatory changes related to the intensive use of technology, electronic transmissions and digital platforms aimed at avoiding physical contact between people and promoting the non-use of paper.

The global needs derived from the pandemic in terms of minimizing the negative impacts on international trade flows, motivated the concern of organizations such as the World Customs Organization (WCO), which, based on best practices, issued a series of recommendations to address this situation. 

In Peru, various measures were adopted to reestablish and strengthen the international logistics chain, which required the public and private sectors to work together. This experience, which was mirrored by similar efforts in other countries in the region, will not only make it possible to address the shortcomings detected in the international logistics chain, but will also generate a profound learning process on what should or should not be done in similar situations.