Let’s Agree to Disagree: A Strategy for Trade-Security

Abstract

Deliberation of trade security is crucial for maintaining multilateral coordination and enabling governments, businesses, and individuals to navigate global economic networks. World Trade Organization (WTO) members’ mounting invocations of security-based trade restrictiveness increasingly challenge an institution that requires persistent coordination and transparency to function. WTO members need space to discuss—and disagree with—the intersection of security and trade policies. While members make use of existing WTO institutions and procedures, the exceptionalism and secrecy of security hinder notification, and review of security-rooted trade practices. This article provides a descriptive analysis and prescriptions for WTO institutional techniques for addressing members’ security-related measures daily—that is, on a routine basis, via trade policy review and WTO notification processes. It shows that the trade community already possess the tools to manage the growing issue-area of trade and security.

Cyberspace as a fifth dimension of national security: trade measure exceptions

“…For the panel, while “political” and “economic” conflicts could sometimes be considered “urgent” and “serious” in a political sense, such conflicts will not be “emergenc[ies] in international relations” within the meaning of subparagraph (iii). (Pinchis-Paulsen, 2022, p. 113 (7.245))…”

“…Secondly, the meaning and requirements of (b)(iii) include four criteria for the national security exception as enunciated in Article XXI (b) (iii) to apply. These are: the existence of a “war or other emergency in international relations” (of a grave and severe nature); that actions were “taken in a time of” that war or other emergency (a temporal connection) (Pinchis-Paulsen, 2022); a reasonable link between the actions and a members’ “essential security interests”; and a requirement that actions are not so remote from the “emergency in international relations” that it would be implausible for a member to consider those actions to be necessary [48]. …”

“…that actions were “taken in a time of” that war or other emergency (a temporal connection) (Pinchis-Paulsen, 2022);…”

“…For this reason, engagement with the WTO negotiation process is essential. As one commentator identifies, “the worst outcome will be if members stop using the WTO altogether” (Pinchis-Paulsen, 2022, p. 527, 528). Hence, the WTO forum should provide members the juncture to discuss important issues, such as amendments to provisions that were agreed nearly 80 years ago.…”

Geopolitical competition, globalisation and WTO reform

“…A common feature is that WTO committees and councils be used more to discuss trade concerns in their respective area (e.g. Hoekman, 2014; Pinchis‐Paulsen, 2022; Shaffer, 2021). Some WTO bodies do much more of this than others.…”