Part 1:
40 N.C. J. Int’l L. & Com. Reg. 443 – COUNTERING STATE-SPONSORED CYBER ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

Part 2:
In the legal source article, it discusses international espionage. Espionage itself is another way of saying spying. Espionage (spying) was popular during the Cold War for a period. One example was the Soviet Union obtaining intel of nuclear weapons through international espionage. Since the USSR collapsed, Russia’s threat potential has declined. A greater threat has emerged and that threat is China. America and China formed an international relationship by trading. Recently, China has been partaking in espionage as a way to harm the U.S economy in significant portions. For instance in 2012, the US government called out China for causing American companies to lose $250 billion dollars with an additional $114 billion dollars. After failed attempts to negotiate China from participating in such acts, The US increased security measures. A way America retaliates towards espionage and international attacks is by giving the perpetrator a taste of their own medicine. Today China and America are enduring a trade war between each other.

Part 3:
After the conclusion of the Cold War, Russia has mostly been out the picture whereas China has stepped up on America’s radar as an international threat. Because the two nations trade goods with each other, China has grown to be the 2nd richest country in the world under the United States. Unfortunately, business and trade does not mean friendship. On many occasions China has attacked the US with espionage through nefarious purposes to attack intelligence and the economy. What makes this attack more concerning is the US does little to nothing about this predicament which is highly costly and can be very detrimental during this time. The tariff war is costing America for we own China $1.1 trillion dollars in debt and Chinese espionage is costing America billions.

Part 4:
“China denounced the indictment, denying the charges and citing recent revelations by Edward Snowden to support the argument that the U.S. engages in its own cyber espionage, including collecting intelligence related to trade negotiations.”

“This Article utilizes China’s conduct of economic espionage against American companies as a case study, identifying relevant international law at issue in countering the theft of intellectual property, including both the legal obligations of a nation and the companies’ rights at stake, as well as the options for peaceful dispute settlements, countermeasures, and the dispute settlement mechanism set up by the World Trade Organization (“WTO”).”

General Keith Alexander, estimated that American companies have lost $250 billion in stolen information and another $114 billion in related expenses. Moreover, in March 2013, in an unprecedented break from diplomatic niceties, President Obama’s national security advisor, Thomas Donilon, publicly called out the Chinese government for the “cyber-enabled theft” of confidential American proprietary information.