2000-2009: A Decade of Security-Related Developments in Trade and Investment

• Main Author: HSU, Locknie
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2010
• Subjects: Security; Trade; Investment; Export Controls; Dual-Use Goods and Technology; National Security; Essential Security; Protectionism; Asian Studies; International Trade Law; Transnational Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1052
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This paper will discuss the changing landscape of security-related concerns in a post-September 11 era as it relates to trade and investment law. With many governments exercising heightened vigilance in the transport of goods, transfer of technology, services and foreign investments in businesses (particularly those offering vital goods and services), national laws as well as perceptions shaping those laws have changed in the last decade. The legal instruments and case law in these areas have addressed new challenges as well as raised new questions, and administrators and adjudicatory tribunals need to keep up with these changes as well as interpret them. Examples of recent changes in law addressing and affecting security of Singapore’s imports, exports, supply chains and foreign investments will be discussed. As Singapore is a significant trading and transshipment centre, these developments are of interest not only to Singapore businesses but also to her trading partners. This paper will also examine whether there are any other steps that may generally be taken to improve security in trade and investment regimes while minimizing risks of protectionism and unnecessary barriers.