In a global environment where “[e]conomic security is national security,” the rise of protectionist regulatory regimes and industrial policy is threatening to bring decades of global free trade to a close. Rick Sofield, Partner and Co-Chair of the National Security team with Debevoise will set the scene of how the evolving political landscape and the proliferation of national security regulatory regimes are dismantling the global free trade consensus, and engage in a discussion to look at recommendations for global firms to successfully navigate this increasingly fragmented landscape. 

UK, European and U.S. investment restrictions, global economic sanctions, data localization regulations, supply chain regulations, and enhanced criminal and civil enforcement policies are blurring the historical lines between economic security and national security, with the U.S. government and others likely to expand their use of national security tools to advance economic objectives.[related to the article from Debevoise: Economic Statecraft: How the Emerging Front in National Security Impacts Cross-Border Firms | 07 | 2025 | Publications | Insights & Publications | Debevoise & Plimpton LLP]