Question

The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a human tragedy. Measures introduced to deal with the pandemic could save lives but are having wide-ranging economic effects and inducing economic contagion. Greater focus is needed on the transmission mechanisms of the economic contagion and how assessments of the economic impacts are made.

Q1       Assess the impacts of Covid-19 outbreak on regional trading agreements such as ASEAN and European Union.

Q2       Discuss the impacts of Covid-19 crisis on global financial market and the role of International Monetary Fund (IMF) in overcoming the crisis.

-The answer most be more then 1700 word withe references

Answer 1

1.-Assesing the economic impacts of COVID-19 on ASEAN countries & European Union, The COVID-19 is the first and foremost a human tragedy. Measures introduced to deal with the pandemic could save lives but are having wide-ranging economic effects and inducing economic contagion. The effects of COVID-19 are hitting ASEAN economies at a time when other risk factors, such as a global growth slowdown, were already risingCOVID-19 is disrupting tourism and travel, supply chains and labour supply. Uncertainty is driving negative sentiment. This all affects trade, investment and output, which in turn affects growth. Among ASEAN countries, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are heavily integrated in regional supply chains and will be the most affected by a reduction in demand for the goods produced within them.

2.-The spread of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 has severely impacted the global financial markets. These are incredibly uncertain times, with countries around the world suffering the destabilizing effects of the pandemic. No company is immune to the challenges caused by the health crisis, and there are understandable concerns about the damage caused to the worldwide economy.
In Asia, where the outbreak was first reported at the end of December 2019, concern about the spread of the disease has led to the current downward market trend
This is no ordinary downturn in the financial markets; the repercussions of the coronavirus are expected to be felt for many more months, possibly years. Relief plans, such as the one introduced in the United States, have started to lift financial markets around the world, but investors remain cautious and look set to wait for the outbreak to be controlled before once again investing in stocks.

The IMF has the following facilities and instruments in its toolkit to help countries respond to the economic impact of the coronavirus.
Emergency financing. The Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) provide emergency financial assistance to member countries without the need to have a full-fledged program in place
Augmenting existing lending programs. The IMF can modify as needed existing programs in support of countries to accommodate urgent new needs arising from the coronavirus. The IMF was the first international financial institution to swiftly provide additional financing for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in 2014 to fight the Ebola outbreak
Grants for debt relief. The Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) allows the IMF to provide grants for debt relief to the poorest and most vulnerable countries with outstanding obligations to the IMF to help address disasters, including public health disasters
New financing arrangement. The IMF can also provide support through a new financing arrangement
The IMF will continue to support vulnerable countries through capacity development. Given the need to quickly redirect public resources, the IMF will remain closely engaged with the affected member countries and development partners, working as needed to reprioritize capacity development activities.