Trade and national security interests have always been implicitly interlinked. In current times, trade policies are becoming explicit expressions of security interests, precipitated by global events such as Brexit, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US-China trade war, pandemic, and climate change. Prof. Mona Pinchis-Paulsen of London School of Economics and Political Science, in this article, argues a case for deliberating trade security, among countries, in the WTO forum and not unilaterally, bypassing WTO. The professor expresses her concern that sans WTO-wide discussion, a group of powerful and advanced countries get an edge in framing trade-security rules, and leaving all other WTO members conform to these rules. She concludes:
“…the multilateral trading system accommodates the relationship between trade and essential security interests and the existing means for information sharing and monitoring via notification, surveillance of policies, and dispute settlement at the WTO.”
The collective goal should, therefore, be to strengthen the WTO and make it a thriving forum for trade security deliberations.