The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered necessary large scale emergency government support for businesses and industries. The design and implementation of this support is crucial in avoiding domestic and international market distortions in the medium- and long-term. This brief considers ways to ensure that short-term crisis responses do not result in unintended negative implications for competition and trade in the medium- and long-term. It highlights the competition and trade policy tools governments can use to effectively balance the needs of the COVID-19 pandemic response while ensuring that this response does not undermine efforts to maintain a level playing field, domestically and globally.