The spring of 2020 marks a difficult moment for the Dutch trade in goods as exporters were hit hard by the Covid-19 global crisis. Although the overall level of exports and imports suffered, the extent to which individual firms were affected varied greatly. This chapter starts by reviewing the patterns of the Dutch trade in goods during the pandemic from a macro perspective. It then moves to examine the heterogeneity in the response of Dutch goods traders to the crisis: which firms were most affected by the Covid-19 crisis? Did more productive or large firms experience less of a drop in exports or imports? Did the group of firms receiving government aid suffer less during the global crisis. In answering these questions, not only the phase of the pandemic is taken into account, but also the differences between firms in size class, industry and whether or not it was a recipient of government support.
Dutch international trade in goods during the pandemic: a macro and microanalysis