The WTO is exposed to significant political risks deriving from both the abusive employment of the national security argument, as well as the use of the WTO dispute settlement system to address this problem. This article explores the implications of the first WTO panel decision, adopted in April 2019, in which the argument of ‘essential security interests’ was employed to justify trade restrictions. Article XXI of the GATT 1994 now tends to be invoked in other ongoing disputes, notably by the United States in the dispute settlement cases involving its barriers to steel and aluminum. The article argues that pathways other than WTO litigation should be explored to deal with trade barriers adopted under the argument of national security and, despite the absence of simple solutions, it considers some possible alternatives.

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贸易与国家安全：世贸组织面临的风险上升

由于滥用国家安全论据以及使用 WTO 争端解决机制来解决这一问题，WTO 面临着重大的政治风险。本文探讨了 2019 年 4 月通过的第一个 WTO 专家组决定的影响，其中使用“基本安全利益”的论点来证明贸易限制的合理性。GATT 1994 第 XXI 条现在倾向于在其他正在进行的争端中被援引，特别是美国在涉及其钢铁和铝壁垒的争端解决案件中。文章认为，应探索 WTO 诉讼以外的途径来处理在国家安全论点下采用的贸易壁垒，尽管没有简单的解决方案，但它考虑了一些可能的替代方案。