This study examines the economic and social cost of COVID-19 on the Free Trade Zones (FTZs) of Sri Lanka where a significant proportion of the country’s working population is situated. Export oriented industrialization has been a key priority for driving economic growth in Sri Lanka and FTZs, also referred to as Export Processing Zones (EPZ), were established as an instrumental strategy for attracting foreign direct investment. The FTZs were among the areas hardest hit by the pandemic as Sri Lanka’s trade sector was heavily dependent on the world trade network for product markets as well as raw materials. Both product markets and access to raw materials were massively impacted by international trade restrictions imposed due to the pandemic resulting in a crippling effect on Sri Lanka’s production chains.