The European Commission waived import duties on medical equipment. A very welcome move.

We have added a new database containing imports of relevant COVID-19 medical products. The data can be accessed in our blog post - http://bit.ly/2QPUWzA 

Some insights from the data (1/4)

Even industrialised regions like the EU depend on other nations for key medical supplies. For example, more than half of PPE (56%) is imported from outside the EU.

Data for 2018. Source COMEXT.

China is one of the main suppliers of PPE and thermometers to the EU. However, the US is the main suppliers of medical instruments and devices and other medical consumables. Disinfectants are sourced from a variety of suppliers.

The EU member states that buy the largest amounts of medical supplies other EU member states are Germany, France, Italy, UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Spain. The EU single market is particularly important for disinfectants and sterilisation products