US Export Controls Under WTO Law

This article innovatively examines US export control law and policy under WTO law, filling up a research gap in this important field. Arguably, US export controls are characterised by excessive national discretion, especially in terms of policy coherence with WTO law, the US domestic status of WTO law and regulatory reasons. Corresponding suggestions are provided for constraining the discretion in the aforesaid aspects in the direction of consistency with WTO law and trade liberalisation. On the other hand, in the area of trade facilitation, in spite of weaknesses in several limited aspects, such as division of powers, simplicity and convenience, the US export controls are generally viewed as sound and not requiring further improvement