This panel will examine the global phenomenon of the deliberate use of trade measures—tariffs, non-tariff barriers, sanctions, export controls, and other instruments, not as neutral regulatory tools but as instruments of geopolitical power. The US has been at the forefront of this trend, invoking national security to justify broad tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and several other statutes.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year in Learning Resources v. Trump clarified that IEEPA does not authorise tariffs, curbing executive overreach. This decision triggered refund obligations, creating a nationwide compliance and financial impact for importers, and flow on wave of new/surrogate trade weapons in replacement. For its part, the US insisted on reincarnating its tariff wall using alternative methods.
This has triggered a variety of responses from other countries, ranging from signing bilateral trade deals to engaging in counter-retaliation.

The panel will consider:
• How do we distinguish legitimate trade regulation from the weaponisation of trade?; 
• What are the legal boundaries – both domestically and internationally?;
• Practical consequences and responses for companies;
• International responses, including implications for FTAs and the WTO;
• Consequences for the Sino-American Trade War; and
• Systemic implications for International Trade Law and Policy