Coronavirus: G20 ministers meet by video to tackle supply chain disruptions

Many countries rely on China for drug ingredients, and are now struggling to avoid shortages after lockdown measures prompted by the epidemic held up supplies and delayed shipments.

Trade ministers from the Group of 20 major economies convened an extraordinary video conference on Monday to come to grips with the blow to global trade from the coronavirus pandemic and weigh how to overcome supply chain disruptions.

G20 leaders pledged last week to inject over $5 trillion into the global economy to limit job and income losses. They said they would ensure the flow of goods including vital medical supplies and resolve disruptions caused by border closures by national governments anxious to limit transmissions of the virus.

But they stopped short of calling for an end to export bans that many