Exploring the Linkage between Trade, Technology and Security

Exploring the links between trade, technology and national security

Governments increasingly invoke national security to restrict foreign technology firms, but what do these measures actually achieve, and what do they cost? In this working paper, I explore how restrictions affect firms operating across borders, what international trade and investment rules require of governments, and how far national security exceptions allow them to depart from those commitments.

My aim is to bring some clarity to a debate too often dominated by political rhetoric. Genuine security concerns deserve serious attention, and the appropriate response depends on the threat. The challenge is to manage those risks without unnecessarily dismantling the global value chains and innovation networks on which our prosperity depends. The paper sets out a research agenda for examining that balance, alongside the policy primer presented below.

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