The Economic Tools of National Security

As the United States has pulled back from military engagements around the world, it is relying more heavily on economic tools to address national security concerns. The United States has deployed economic sanctions, export controls, and investment screening regimes to address issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, technological competition with China, cybersecurity threats, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and human rights abuses. Many of these economic tools rest on long-standing delegations of authority to the executive branch that are being deployed in new and different ways or at a different scale. Among other topics, this seminar will explore the legal authorities underlying the executive branch’s use of economic tools of national security, the role that Congress plays in authorizing and overseeing executive branch actions, and the role of courts in reviewing challenges from regulated parties. It will also look internationally to the comparative practice of other countries and to international law and institutions that might limit U.S. use of economic tools of national security.