Trade Interests of the Tsunami Affected Countries

Since a catastrophic Tsunami hit coastal areas around the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004, many have suggested that trade could be a more useful instrument to assist the recovery of affected countries than aid transfers alone. To probe this argument, this paper examines the economies of the affected countries and identifies their overall trade interests and market access concerns. In addition, it summarizes EU and US trade measures which aim to help the recovery. It is argued in the paper that, despite even when trade measures benefit the tsunami-affected countries overall, they may have limitations in delivering benefits directly to the affected people and region.