Export control laws in recent trade wars: the infusion of security interests into commercial sphere

Abstract

The structure of international export control agreements and domestic export controls have historically established a regime tailored to restrict the global proliferation of military-use goods and technology. The foundation of these export control regimes focused on building a consensus to form export control lists for national security interest that could be adopted into domestic export control laws. The ongoing U.S.-Sino and South Korea-Japan trade wars have evolved the role of export control laws in its domestic application to trade. This paper discusses the two trade wars through the perspective of how export control regulations have been applied in them, and makes the argument that export control laws have now expanded beyond its original purpose of imposing regulatory restrictions on outbound movement of military-used goods and technology. The imposition of domestic export control laws against an important trading partner has translated into imposing trade restriction with commercial implications. This paper outlines the basic framework of how international and domestic export control laws were structured, and how the recent trade wars highlight the change in ideology in how the export controls could be employed in a trade dispute. The increase use of domestic export control laws reflects a new method of encroaching on free trade that might have commercial impact on the global technology supply chain. The article aims to bring this important debate on export control to the field of Brazilian academic debate and the construction of public policies.