Agreement on Safeguards

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Table of contents 

I. Preamble   back to top

A. Text of the Preamble
B. Interpretation and Application of the Preamble

II. Article 1   back to top

A. Text of Article 1
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 1

1. Relationship with Article XIX of the GATT 1994

(a) General

(b) “unforeseen developments”

III. Article 2   back to top

A. Text of Article 2
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 2

1. General

(a) The two basic inquiries

2. Article 2.1

(a) Relationship with Article XIX of the GATT 1994

(b) Findings under Article 4 and Article 2

(c) “that such product is being imported … in such increased quantities”

(i) Relevance of quantity versus value of imports

(ii) Relationship between Article 2.1 and Article 4.2(a)

(iii) Nature and timing of the increase in imports

(iv) Absolute or relative increase in imports

(d) “and under such conditions”

(e) The relevance of price analysis when assessing the situation of the domestic industry

(f) Scope of application of a safeguard measure in the case of a regional trade agreement

(g) Parallelism

(h) “cause or threaten to cause serious injury”

(i) Necessity of discrete determination of serious injury or of threat of serious injury

(i) Relationship with other Articles

(j) Relationship with other WTO Agreements

(i) Article XXIV of the GATT 1994

3. Article 2.2

(a) Scope of application of safeguard measures in the case of regional trade agreements

(b) Relationship with other Articles

(c) Relationship with other WTO Agreements

IV. Article 3  back to top

A. Text of Article 3
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 3

1. General

(a) Absence of a claim under Article 3

2. Article 3.1

(a) “investigation”

(i) Duty of national authorities

(ii) The conduct of the investigation — the obligation to consult interested parties

(b) Internal decision-making process prior to determination

(c) The published report

(i) “To publish” versus “to make publicly available”

(ii) Reasoned conclusions

(iii) “on all pertinent issues of law and fact”

(iv) Format of the report

(v) Timing of the report

(d) Relationship with other paragraphs of Article 3

(e) Relationship with other Articles

(f) Relationship with other WTO Agreements

(i) Article XIX of the GATT 1994

(ii) Article 11 of the DSU

3. Article 3.2

(a) Confidential information

(b) Relationship with other paragraphs of Article 3

(c) Relationship with other WTO Agreements

(i) Articles 11 and 13 of the DSU

V. Article 4   back to top

A. Text of Article 4
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 4

1. Article 4.1(a)

(a) “serious injury” as “significant overall impairment” in the position of the domestic industry

(i) “serious injury” as a high standard of injury

(ii) Evaluation of all injury factors

(b) “current” serious injury

2. Article 4.1(b)

(a) Serious injury “that is clearly imminent”; determination of a threat of serious injury “based on facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility”

(b) Increased imports as a prerequisite for a determination of threat of serious injury

(c) Relationship between a determination of the existence of serious injury and a determination of the existence of a threat of serious injury

(d) Relationship with Article 4.1(c)

3. Article 4.1(c)

(a) “domestic industry” — “producers as a whole … of the like or directly competitive products”

(b) “those whose collective output … constitutes a major proportion”

(c) Relationship with other Articles

4. Article 4.2(a)

(a) “shall evaluate all relevant factors”

(i) Relationship between the requirement to evaluate all relevant factors and the definition of serious injury in Article 4.1(a)

(ii) “All” relevant factors — factors relating to imports and factors relating to the domestic industry

(iii) Requirement to consider all factors listed in Article 4.2(a)

(iv) Standard of review

(v) “of an objective and quantifiable nature”

General

Nature and temporal focus of data in a threat analysis

(vi) “Rate and amount” of the increase; “changes” in the level of sales

(vii) “productivity”

(viii) Factors not listed in Article 4.2(a)

(ix) Consideration of “all relevant factors” in the case of a segmented domestic industry

(x) Consideration of trends

(xi) Allocation methodology

(b) Relationship with Article 4.2(b)

5. Article 4.2(b)

(a) General approach to the causation analysis

(i) Coincidence of trends

(ii) Conditions of competition between imported and domestic products

(iii) Factors other than increased imports (non-attribution requirement)

(b) Relationship with other Articles

(c) Relationship with other WTO Agreements

(i) Anti-Dumping Agreement

6. Article 4.2(c)

(a) Relationship with other Articles

VI. Article 5   back to top

A. Text of Article 5
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 5

1. Article 5.1

(a) Scope of requirement to explain the necessity of a safeguard measure

(b) Adjustment plans

(c) Relationship with other Articles

(d) Relationship with other WTO Agreements

(i) GATT 1994

2. Article 5.2

(a) Article 5.2(b)

(i) “the departure referred to above shall not be permitted in the case of threat of serious injury”

VII. Article 6   back to top

A. Text of Article 6
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 6

1. Relationship with other Articles

VIII. Article 7   back to top

A. Text of Article 7
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 7

1. Article 7.2

2. Article 7.4

IX. Article 8   back to top

A. Text of Article 8
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 8

1. Article 8.1

(a) “in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 12”

(b) Relationship with other Articles

(c) Relationship with other WTO Agreements

2. Article 8.2

(a) Extensions of time-limits under Article 8.2

(b) Table of Article 8.2 invocations

1. Article 8.3

(a) “absolute increase in imports”

X. Article 9   back to top

A. Text of Article 9
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 9

1. Article 9.1

(a) Exclusion of developing country exporting less than “de minimis” levels

(b) Footnote to Article 9.1

XI. Article 10  back to top

A. Text of Article 10
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 10

XII. Article 11  back to top

A. Text of Article 11
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 11

1. Article 11.1(a)

(a) Relationship with Article XIX of the GATT 1994

(b) Relationship with other Articles

2. Article 11.1(b)

3. Article 11.2

XIII. Article 12   back to top

A. Text of Article 12
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 12

1. General

(a) Notification formats adopted by the Committee on Safeguards

(b) Notification under Article 12: document series

2. Article 12.1

(a) “shall immediately notify”

(i) “Immediate” notification under Article 12.1(a)

(ii) “Immediate” notification under Article 12.1(b)

(iii) “Immediate” notification under Article 12.1(c)

(b) Content of notifications under Article 12.1(a)

3. Article 12.2

(a) “all pertinent information”

(b) Notification of a proposed safeguard measure

4. Article 12.3

(a) “adequate opportunity for prior consultations”

5. Relationship with other Articles

(a) Articles 2 and 4

(b) Article 7

6. Article 12.5

7. Article 12.6

8. Article 12.7

9. Other notification requirements

XIV. Article 13   back to top

A. Text of Article 13
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 13

1. General

(a) Rules of procedure

(b) observers

2. Article 13.1

XV. Article 14  back to top

A. Text of Article 14
B. Interpretation and Application of Article 14

1. Articles of the Agreement on Safeguards invoked in panel and Appellate Body proceedings

2. Standard of review

XVI. Annex  back to top

A. Text of the Annex
B. Interpretation and Application of the Annex

XVII. Other  back to top

A. Accession Protocol of China Transitional Safeguard
B. Interpretation and Application

1. Procedural requirements for transitional safeguards under Paragraph 16

2. General

(a) Standard of review under Paragraph 16

(b) Burden of proof

3. Paragraph 16.1

(a) Paragraphs 16.1 and 16.4 as context for each other

(b) Notifications

4. Paragraph 16.3: “to the extent necessary”

5. Paragraph 16.4

(a) Determination of “market disruption” and material injury

(b) Period of investigation and data analysis

(b) “increasing rapidly, either absolutely or relatively”

(b) Causation

(i) General

(ii) “a significant cause”

(iii) Causation analysis required by Paragraph 16 of the Protocol

(iv) Non-attribution of injury caused by other factors

6. Paragraph 16.6: duration of remedy