Industrial Policy, National Security, and the Perilous Plight of the WTO

Abstract

The WTO is going through an unprecedented crisis that has seriously eroded its relevance. The repeated invocations of national security against other members are evidence of a growing distrust. Industrial policy in the name of national security was unheard of when the WTO entered the realm of international relations. The disputes that arise cannot be adequately addressed because the WTO contract cannot be adequately enforced due to the dysfunctional Appellate Body. But even if this were not the case, could enforcement of an outdated contract ever solve the emerging problem? The response in this book is negative—the WTO contract is in dire need of updating. Alas, no one is working in this direction. The WTO is facing what Joseph Nye called a “Kindleberger trap”: the parties that could take the lead to invest in the international order are either unwilling or find it impossible to do so. Trading nations seem to have forgotten that the cost of no WTO is sizeable anyway (if trade growth wanes). And there is a risk that the cost extends beyond international commercial relations.