Abstract
In 2018, China, India, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, and Turkey lodged complaints with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in the case of Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminium Products. Each State alleged that the United States had violated international trade law by imposing a series of aggressive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. President Donald Trump’s administration responded to these allegations by claiming that its actions were permissible under Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); a long-standing exception built into the international trade law framework that allows States to restrict trade when doing so is vital to their national security. According to the United States, Article XXI granted it and other States near-total discretion when it came to defining their own security interests. The DSB Panel rejected this argument. Instead, the Panel asserted its own power to determine whether a State could claim the protection of Article XXI. When it came to American tariffs on imported metals, the Panel found that Article XXI was not appropriately implicated.
Recommended Citation
Victoria Walker,
Subsidizing the Microchip Race: The Expanding Use of National Security Arguments in International Trade,
57
U. Mich. J. L. Reform
661
(2024).
Available at:
https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol57/iss3/4