Safeguard measures
A WTO member may take a safeguard action (i.e., restrict imports of a product temporarily) to protect a specific domestic industry from an increase in imports of any product which is causing, or which is threatening to cause, serious injury to the industry.
Safeguard measures were always available under the GATT (Article XIX). However, they were infrequently used, and some governments preferred to protect their industries through grey area measures (voluntary export restraint arrangements on products such as cars, steel and semiconductors).
The WTO Safeguards Agreement broke new ground in prohibiting grey area measures and setting time limits (sunset clause) on all safeguard actions.
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Basic
introduction to the Safeguards Agreement
Links to the safeguards section of the WTO guide, “Understanding the
WTO”
Overview of the Safeguards Agreement
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The mandate
The Safeguards Agreement: a detailed explanation
Browse or download the text of the “Safeguards Agreement” from the legal texts gateway
Find decisions of WTO bodies concerning the Safeguards Agreement in the Analytical Index — Guide to WTO Law and Practice
Work on safeguard measures in the WTO, and official documents
The Committee on Safeguards monitors, and reports annually to the Goods Council, on the general implementation of the agreement. A member affected by a safeguard measure may ask the committee to make a finding on whether the measure complies with the agreements procedural requirements. At the request of members, the committee may assist consultations, or review proposals for retaliatory action. It monitors the phase-out of the notified “grey-area” measures, and reviews all safeguard notifications. The current chair is .
> Consult the Guide to downloading files.
Statistics on safeguard measures
The data presented in the tables below are based on the notifications made by WTO Members to the Committee on Safeguards during the relevant periods, and are accurate only to the extent Members have made the relevant notification. The information in the tables will be updated periodically. Data in the tables have been updated as of 31 December 2022.
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harmonized
system section headings
> MS Word (47KB) > pdf (11KB) - Safeguard initiations: by reporting Member
> MS Excel (24KB) > pdf (12KB) - Safeguard
initiations: by sector
> MS Excel (19KB) > pdf (11KB) - Safeguard Initiations: by Sector (Sectoral)
> MS Excel (27KB) > pdf (12KB) - Safeguard measures: by reporting Member
> MS Excel (27KB) > pdf (12KB) - Safeguard
measures: by sector
> MS Excel (27KB) > pdf (12KB) - Safeguard Measures by Sector (Sectoral)
> MS Excel (27KB) > pdf (12KB)