With the removal of exchange controls and other restrictions to capital mobility, the need for, and the use of, import restrictions for balance-of-payment reasons, as provided for under GATT Articles XII and XVIII:B, has diminished. Since a recent WTO ruling also seems to have put a stop to developing countries' using the ambiguity of treaty language to justify measures designed to protect their domestic industries, there is reason to expect that trade restrictions justified with a foreign exchange crisis will finally fall into disuse.
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