The U.S. implemented the most measures of any country studied, relying primarily on subsidies. India and South Africa relied more heavily on trade constraints, like tariffs and quantitative restrictions, reflecting their more limited fiscal space. Perhaps a surprising outlier, China implemented the fewest new trade-related policies during the pandemic, which may suggest it had existing measures in place and available to address the health and economic effects of the crisis. In this sense, Western policies became more interventionist, like those of China.

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