FY2022 SSU-Working Paper “Security Exception Clauses under Free Trade Agreements”
SSU published working paper as the outcome of MOFA Grant Research Project “Trends of major countries (U.S., China, and Europe) in the field of economic security and policies that Japan should adopt”, titled “Security Exception Clauses under Free Trade Agreements” by Takemasa Sekine (Yokohama National University).
(Overview)
Trade restrictive measures for the sake of a country’s own national security are, as it appears, contrary to the spirit of free trade. Making exceptions to such measures requires a reason. Article XXI of GATT plays a central role in this regard. However, there is a strong critical view of this provision (and its interpretation), and there are moves to establish different rules. A typical example is the security exception clause in US FTAs. This paper discusses how the security exception clause is developed in the WTO and FTAs, and how its development in FTAs affects Article XXI of GATT.
Read the full text.
Security Exception Clauses under Free Trade Agreements