Drawing on
the analysis of international trade law and the research on the regulation of
the semiconductor industry in key players, the United States of America (US),
the Netherlands, and Japan, this paper explores under which conditions export
controls are compatible with the international trade law framework. To this
end, it focuses on the scope of national security exceptions under the
agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and examines to which extent
export controls on the semiconductor industry can be justified under such
exceptions. It discusses the direction in which the current practice and
jurisprudence of WTO panels are heading and the possible effects of governments’ ‘decoupling’
strategies toward China on shaping international
trade law. This paper suggests that governments might have difficulties
justifying their imminent cybersecurity and geo-economic concerns under
existing security exceptions and that they should consider either clarifying
the scope of such exceptions or changing the approach to dealing with national
security issues under the WTO framework.