WTO Issues Groundbreaking Decision On GATT National Security Exception

On April 5, 2019, a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel issued the first substantive WTO panel decision interpreting the "essential security" provision of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994). The decision, which is still subject to appeal, has significant implications for other important disputes currently pending at the WTO—including the ongoing challenges to the steel and aluminum tariffs that the Trump Administration imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the challenge that Qatar is pursuing against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in connection with the blockade imposed in 2017.

The dispute—Russia – Measures Concerning Traffic in Transit—arose following the serious deterioration of relations between Ukraine and Russia in February 2014. Between 2014 and 2018, Russia imposed a number of measures that restricted Ukraine from using transit routes across Russia for traffic destined for markets in Central