Measuring exposure and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to global value chains: An analysis based on imported specified intermediate goods in Canada

This paper builds on the Broad Economic Categories (BEC) classification to illustrate Canada’s participation in global value chains (GVCs) through an analysis of imported specified intermediate goods (SIG). A measure of exposure to imports of these goods from top country sources is calculated to shed lights on how this exposure evolved during the pandemic and how Canada adjusted to possible disruptions in GVCs. In addition, the measure of exposure is also computed at the broad economic category and at the product level to reveal some nuances in the interpretation of exposure to imported SIG.