Impact of COVID-19 on Commonwealth Countries and Importance of Digital Trade and AFCFTA

Portfolio

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Question 1: COVID-19 on Commonwealth countries.....................................................................3
a) Impact of Covid 19 on the Commonwealth countries goods and services exports.................3
b) Identify the sources of the future growth for the commonwealth advantage..........................4
Question 2: A report titled ‘Commonwealth trade, digital trade and change in Africa’ in response
to the following tasks.......................................................................................................................5
a). Importance of digital trade along with its trends challenges and opportunities.....................5
b). Comment on the African Continental Free Trade Area AFCFTA and its real significance,
the current state of play and how transformative and inclusive can it be, especially for women7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Portfolio can be defined as the collection of the academic work as this is considered as the
evidence for the education of the student. The main purpose of the portfolio is evaluation of the
coursework quality, learning progress as well as the academic achievement. These are used by
the working professionals, companies as well as the students for highlighting their best work as
well as displaying the accomplishments and the skills they have. Portfolio is considered as the
entire or the overall collection of the investments or the financial assets which includes the
stocks, bonds, real estate and many more.
The portfolios of the organization provides the skills and the best work which they have
done are highlighted. This report will discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 on the
commonwealth countries goods and services exports as well as the prospects for the trade
recovery. Along with this, the identification and the evaluation of the source for the future
growth. Further, it will discuss the importance of the digital trade with its main trends, challenges
as well as opportunities and the comment on the African Continental Free Trade Area.
MAIN BODY
Question 1: COVID-19 on Commonwealth countries
a) Impact of Covid 19 on the Commonwealth countries goods and services exports
With the emergence of the COVID-19, this has generated the global shock as this caused
the devastating effects on the international trade flows. Due to the lock-downs, travel restrictions,
international border as well as the port closures has resulted in the macroeconomic shock. This
pandemic has caused the large impacts on the 54 Commonwealth countries as by there happened
the deep recession in these commonwealth countries. The gross domestic products of this was
then collapsed by the US $1.45 Trillion in just single year. This then translated to the $345
billion of the members of the commonwealth countries global exports of the goods and the
services (Wright,2020). The effect of the COVID 19 may be acute for the commonwealth
countries as these largely depended on exporting the fuels, agricultural commodities as well as
the minerals.
The commonwealth countries is the diverse group of the 54 countries from the east coast
of the New Zealand to the western parts of the Caribbean as well as the South America. Among
this, the 6 commonwealth countries are developed and the other 48 countries are at the
developing stage of the economy. This pandemic has caused much large impacts on the economy

of the commonwealth countries as by this there was seen the economic crisis in the
commonwealth countries which leads to drop in the global trade flows (Daniel, 2020). The main
commodities of the commonwealth countries for the exports are the food products, mineral ores
as well as the metals and fuel. The Covid 19 has created the negative demand of these
commodities which resulted to the collapse in the prices of the commodities.
The prospects for the quick recovery of the trade flows has been improved as the
merchandise trade expansion. The value of the global trade for the goods and the services is
forecasted to reach the $6.6 trillion in the year 2021. There was seen the robust recovery in the
year 2021 as this was driven by the strong consumers who willing to spend more and are
interested in the investments (Anttiroiko, 2021). The recovery of the pandemic of Covid 19 has
created the high record in the first quarter of the 2021 as this was increased by the 10%. The
global trade of the commonwealth countries has recorded the fast recovery from the recession
which was caused by the pandemic.
b) Identify the sources of the future growth for the commonwealth advantage
Technology is the most important source for the growth of the commonwealth countries.
The technology has historically observed as the source of driving the globalization as this leads
to the rapid expansion in the global trade which helps in the sustainable development in across
the commonwealth (Edejer and et.al., 2020). The countries adopting the advance technology is