Will covid kill globalisation?

Synopsis

COVID-19 has brought disruption to the globalized and interconnected world, leading to significant challenges in various industries. The pandemic has intensified the retreat of globalization, which was already in decline before the crisis. The garment industry, worth $2.5 trillion and employing over 43 million people in Asia, faces severe impacts due to the pandemic. For instance, clothing sales in the West plummeted by 73.5 percent between March and April, resulting in Bangladesh losing an estimated $3.2 billion from canceled exports in just six months. The complex supply chains that characterize this industry, with parts sourced from multiple countries, have been severely affected. Factories in China, responsible for producing buttons and zips, shut down, causing delays in production in Bangladesh. This situation highlights how the interconnected world of trade is vulnerable to disruptions, with millions of low-income workers across Asia losing their jobs as a result of the pandemic's impact on demand and supply.