Martial Arts, Webinar on 'Post-COVID-19 European Economic Outlook' Held

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Korea International Trade Association held a webinar on the "Post-COVID-19 European Economic Outlook" on the 24th, together with the UK Department for International Trade, Germany Trade & Invest, and Business Sweden.

This webinar was organized to hear the opinions of experts from each country on the changes in the economies and industries of the UK, Germany, Sweden, and Europe after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as corporate response strategies.

Oh Tae-hyun, Senior Researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, stated, "The reduction in household consumption due to lockdown measures in each country has led to a vicious cycle of deteriorating corporate profitability, employee layoffs, and further threats to household economies. The difficulties in cross-border movement, weakening of global value chains (GVC), and contraction of production, consumption, and labor markets will cause a significant decline in Europe’s economic growth rate in the second quarter."

Mike Short, Chief Scientific Adviser at the UK Department for International Trade, said, "Innovative technologies are the main drivers of economic recovery. Fields such as network security, data visualization using mobile networks, artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, and telemedicine will expand."

Frank Lobasic, Korea Representative of Germany Trade & Invest, emphasized, "Germany has also suffered significant damage in sectors such as aviation, hotels, automobiles, and construction, but it is implementing a large-scale economic stimulus package amounting to 4% of GDP, so the recession level is expected to be lower than the European Union (EU) average. The EU’s emission regulations, which will be implemented from next year, present a good opportunity for electric vehicle and battery suppliers."

David Zallow, Trade and Investment Adviser at Business Sweden, said, "Unlike other countries, Sweden responded to the pandemic without strictly restricting citizens’ freedoms, but the economic impact was not significantly different from other countries. Swedish companies also showed signs of gradual economic recovery, with surveys indicating that the economy and exports have turned to a recovery trend."

Jo Bit-na, Head of the Eurasia Division at the Korea International Trade Association, stated, "Europe accounted for 13% of our exports last year, so it is important to understand country-specific trends and economic stimulus measures before formulating export strategies. We will continue to provide up-to-date information so that our companies can prepare for the resumption of economic activities after COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.