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28 Can. Bus. L.J. 198 (1997)
GATT Article XXI, Helms-Burton and the Continuing Abuse of the National Security Exception

handle is hein.journals/canadbus28 and id is 216 raw text is: GATT ARTICLE XXI, HELMS-BURTON AND THE CONTINUING ABUSE OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY EXCEPTION Riyaz Dattu* and John Boscariol** ... to provide for the continued national security of the United States in the face of continuing threats from the Castro government of terrorism, theft of property from United States nationals by the Castro government, and the political manipulation by the Castro government of the desire of Cubans to escape that results in mass migration to the United States. For the past 36 years, the Cuban government has posed and continues to pose a national security threat to the United States.2 Signed into law on March 12, 1996 by U.S. President Bill Clinton, the Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Helms-Burton) touched off a storm of international controversy subjecting the United States to condemnation from all its major trading partners including the EU, Canada, and Mexico. At the centre of the controversy are the. secondary sanction provisions of Title III (the private right of action) and Title IV (the denial of entry into the U.S.) which, as argued by Helms-Burton's critics, are inconsistent with customary international law as well as the obligations of the United States under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (cATT 1994), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFrA).3 The United States will likely justify the legislation in a GAT-r- inspired challenge, or under the NAFTA, by recourse to what is commonly known as the national security exception.4 In GArT Partner, Competition and Trade Law Group, McCarthy Tftrault, Toronto. Associate, Competition and Trade Law Group, McCarthy T~trault, Toronto. Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERIAD) Act of 1996, 22 U.S.C 6021, s. 3(3). 2 Ibid., s. 2(28). 3 More recently, the United States has enacted the similarly controversial Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 which penalizes foreign companies doing business in particular industries of Iran and Libya. 4 See Official Says U.S. Will Invoke WTO Security Exemption for Cuba Law, hiside U.S. Trade (June 21, 1996), pp. 16-17.

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