RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/SG/M/6
26September 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-3856)
Committee onSafeguards
MINUTES OFTHE SPECIAL MEETING
HELD ON6MAY 1996
Chairman: Mr.A.Lakatos (Hungary)
1. TheCommittee onSafeguards heldaspecial meeting on6May1996.
2. Thefollowing agenda wasadopted:
Page
A. Examination andmonitoring ofmeasures covered byArticle 11(1) - 2
(G/SG/N/5/SVN)
B. Notifications ofactions related tosafeguard measures 3
(G/SG/N/6/USA/2; G/SG/N/6/USA/3; G/SG/N/6/KOR/Suppl.1)
C. Proposed information tobenotified totheCommittee where asafeguard 3
investigation isterminated withnomeasure imposed (G/SG/W/113 and
G/SG/W/146)
D. Notifications oflegislation pursuant toArticle 12.6oftheAgreement 4
(i) Ecuador (G/SG/N/1/ECU/1)
(ii) South Africa (G/SG/N/1/ZAF/1)
(iii) Turkey (G/SG/N/1/TUR/2)
E. Notifications without legislative text 5
(i) Guinea, Republic of(G/SG/N/1/GIN/1)
(ii) Malta (G/SG/N/1/MLT/1)
(iii) Myanmar (G/SG/N/1/MYM/1)
(iv) Slovenia (G/SG/N/1/SVN/1)
(v) Tunisia (G/SG/N/1/TUN/1)
(vi) Zimbabwe (G/SG/N/1/ZWE/2)
F. Status oflegislative notifications 6G/SG/M/6
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G. Future review ofnotifications oflegislation pursuant toArticle 12.6 6
oftheAgreement (G/SG/W/116)
H. Schedule ofregular meetings oftheCommittee 7
I. Rules ofprocedure (G/SG/W/59/Rev.1) 7
J. Format forminutes ofmeetings 7
K. Format fortheannual review andreport totheCommittee (WT/L/145) 7
L. Simplification ofdatarequirements andstandardization offormats 7
-advice totheWorking Party onNotification Obligations andProcedures
M. Other business 8
N. Dateofthenextregular meeting (WT/GC/W/32/Rev.1 and 8
WT/GC/4/Rev.1)
O. Election ofofficers 8
A. Examination andmonitoring ofmeasures covered byArticle 11(1)
3. TheChairmanrecalledthatthenotificationsbyCyprus,theEC,KoreaandThailandoftimetables
fortheelimination ofmeasures covered byArticle 11(1) hadbeenreviewed attheNovember 1995
regular meeting. Since thatmeeting, Slovenia hadnotified atimetable. Nocomments orquestions
were raised withrespect tothisnotification.
4. Therepresentative ofSouth Africa recalled thatattheNovember 1995 regular meeting,
South Africa hadindicated thatitsauthorities werepreparing therequired notification ofthetimetable
forremoval ofitsArticle 11(1) measures. Subsequently, some complications hadarisen which had
delayed thenotification, butthenotification wastobesubmitted shortly. (Anotification wasreceived
from South Africa afterthemeeting, andhasbeencirculated inG/SG/N/5/ZAF.)
5. Therepresentative ofJapan asked theECtoexplain whythetimetable notified bytheEC,
which hadbeenreviewed attheNovember 1995 meeting, appeared nottocover alloftheproducts
notified assubject toArticle 11(1) measures. Therepresentative oftheECrecalled thatthisquestion
hadbeendiscussed when theEC'snotifications hadbeenreviewed, andthattheEChadindicated at
thattimethatitwasreviewingwhethersomeofthemeasureswerecoveredbythetarifficationobligations
under theAgriculture Agreement. Therepresentative oftheECadded thatasupplement tothenotified
timetable would besubmitted assoonaspossible. (This notification wassubsequently received, and
hasbeencirculated asG/SG/N/5/EEC/Suppl.1).
6. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.G/SG/M/6
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B. Notifications ofactions related tosafeguard measures
7. TheChairman recalled thattwonotifications ofnewinitiations ofinvestigations relating to
serious injury orthreat thereof andthereasons forithadbeenreceived from theUnited States, and
onesupplement toaprevious notification ofinitiation hadbeenreceived from Korea.
8. Therepresentatives ofVenezuela andtheECrequested thattheUnited States identify the
countries thatmight beaffected bythetwoinvestigations notified bytheUnited States. The
representative oftheUnited States indicated thathewould trytoprovide theinformation orally ata
laterpoint inthemeeting, andthatifthiswasnotpossible, hewould provide theinformation inwriting
atalaterdate. (TheUnited States 'written reply wasreceived afterthemeeting, andcirculated in
G/SG/W/179.)
9. Therepresentative ofMexico expressed hisdelegation 'sconcerns overtheinitiations bythe
United States ofinvestigations ofbroom cornbrooms andoffresh tomatoes andbellpeppers. He
noted thattheinvestigation ofbroom cornbrooms wasinfacttwoinvestigations, oneunder NAFTA
andoneunder theWTO Agreement. Heindicated thatMexico traditionally hasbeenasubstantial
supplier totheUnited States ofalloftheproducts being investigated, andstated Mexico 'sviewthat
theconditions oftrade inthese products were notsuchastowarrant initiation ofinvestigations or
imposition ofprovisional orfinalsafeguard measures. Withrespect totheinvestigation ofbroom corn
brooms, Mexico 'sviewwasthattheinitiation oftheinvestigation wasinconsistent withArticle 2of
theSafeguards Agreement, andthatanyimposition ofprovisional measures would beinconsistent with
Article 6ofthesame Agreement. Withrespect totomatoes andbellpeppers, therepresentative noted
thattheinvestigation covered thefreshmarket only,andthatifthetransformation industry wereincluded
intheinvestigation, eveniftheimport volumes werenotindispute, noinjury would befound, asimports
areofgreatbenefit tothatindustry. Herequested thattheUnited States reject therequests forsafeguard
action onbroom cornbrooms andonfresh tomatoes andbellpeppers, andsuspend theinvestigations.
10. TheChairmannotedthatKorea'ssupplementalnotificationregardingitsinvestigationofsoybean
oil,which indicated thatKorea haddecided nottoinvoke Article XIX, wasinkeeping withthedecision
attheCommittee 'sNovember regular meeting thattermination orconclusion ofinvestigations without
imposition ofsafeguard measures should benotified totheCommittee. TheChairman reminded the
Committee thatconsideration ofaformat forsuchnotifications wasthenextitemontheagenda. The
representative ofBrazil thanked thedelegation ofKorea forproviding thenotification, andstated that
Brazil would welcome afullnotification fromKorea withrespect tothismatter iftheCommittee agreed
onaformat forsuchnotifications.
11. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
C.Proposed information tobenotified totheCommittee where asafeguard investigation is
terminated withnomeasure imposed
12. TheChairmanrecalledthatatitsNovember1995regularmeeting,theCommitteehadrecognized
thattherewasnomechanism forMembers tocommunicate totheCommittee thattheyhadterminated
orconcluded aninvestigation which hadbeeninitiated under theSafeguards Agreement, butwhich
hadnotresulted inimposition ofsafeguard measures. TheCommittee hadrequested theSecretariat
todraftaproposed format thatcould beusedforsuchnotifications. TheSecretariat hadcirculated
therequested draft, andthedelegation ofKorea hadsubmitted fortheCommittee 'sconsideration a
proposed modification oftheSecretariat 'sdraft. Thediscussion ofthetwoalternatives focused on
whether, asreflected inKorea 'sproposal, theformat should require thedescription ofanyaction taken
other thansafeguard action (e.g.tariff increases within bound rates). Several delegations indicated
thatalthough theywere infavour ofmaximum transparency, theywere uneasy about requiring theG/SG/M/6
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notification totheSafeguards Committee ofactions thatarenotwithin theresponsibility ofthe
Committee. TheCommittee agreed thatafinalitemshould beincluded intheformat thatwould allow
notifying Members, onavoluntary basis, toprovide anyother information suchMembers consider
relevant.
13. TheCommittee approved aformat, based onitsdiscussion oftheSecretariat 'sandKorean
delegation 'sdrafts. Subsequent tothemeeting, thisformat wascirculated indocument G/SG/2.
D. Notifications oflegislation pursuant toArticle 12.6oftheAgreement
14. TheChairman reminded Members thatthedeadlines forwritten answers toquestions on
legislations reviewed attheNovember andDecember 1995 special meetings were 15January and
26February 1996, respectively. Nevertheless, Indonesia, Israel, Japan andNorway stillhadnot
submitted written answers.
15. TheChairman alsoexplained whythelegislations ofBrazil andMacau werenotontheagenda
forreview atthemeeting. Pursuant toadecision attheDecember special meeting, Brazil 'slegislative
textwastohavebeenreviewed atthismeeting, buttranslation problems intheEnglish version that
hadbeensentfromBrasilia delayed thecirculation ofthelegislation tosuchanextent thatitsreview
atthismeeting wasnotpossible. Macau 'snotification hadbeen ontheagenda forreview atthe
December special meeting, butnorepresentative ofMacau hadbeenatthatmeeting. Since then,Macau
hadresponded inwriting tothewritten questions thatithadreceived. Therefore, theChairman proposed
thatthereview ofBrazil 'slegislation bepostponed untilthenextmeeting oftheCommittee, andthat
anyfurther questions toMacau behandled inthecontext ofasecond review ofMacau 'slegislation,
pursuant towhatever procedures theCommittee adopted forsuchreviews.
16. TheCommittee sodecided.
17. TheCommittee proceeded tothesubstantive review ofthelegislation ontheagenda.
18. Thequestions concerning thelegislation ofEcuador canbefound inthefollowing documents:
G/SG/W/148 Submitted bytheEC
G/SG/W/152 Submitted byCanada
G/SG/W/157 Submitted byAustralia
G/SG/W/166 Submitted byKorea
G/SG/W/173 Submitted bytheUnited States
ASOF12September 1996, NOANSWERS HAD BEEN RECEIVED.
19. ThequestionsconcerningthelegislationofSouthAfricacanbefoundinthefollowingdocuments:
G/SG/W/147 Submitted bytheEC
G/SG/W/154 Submitted byCanada
G/SG/W/158 Submitted byAustralia
G/SG/W/167 Submitted byKorea
G/SG/W/170 Submitted byJapan
Answers tothese questions canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/W/176 TotheEC,Canada, Australia, Korea andJapanG/SG/M/6
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20. Thequestions concerning thelegislation ofTurkey canbefound inthefollowing documents:
G/SG/W/155 Submitted byCanada
G/SG/W/159 Submitted byAustralia
G/SG/W/168 (+Corr.1) Submitted byKorea
G/SG/W/171 Submitted byJapan
G/SG/W/174 Submitted bytheUnited States
Answers tothese questions canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/Q1/TUR/1 ToCanada, Australia, Korea, theUnited States, andJapan
E. Notifications without legislative text
21. Thequestions concerning thenotification ofMalta canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/W/149 Submitted bytheEC
Answers tothese questions canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/W/177 TotheEC
22. Thequestions concerning thenotification ofSlovenia canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/W/150 Submitted bytheEC
G/SG/W/153 Submitted byCanada
Answers tothese questions canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/W/172 TotheECandCanada
23. Thequestions concerning thenotification ofTunisia canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/W/151 Submitted bytheEC
Answers tothese questions canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/W/178 TotheEC
24. Thequestions concerning thenotification ofZimbabwe canbefound inthefollowing document:
G/SG/W/156 Submitted byCanada
ASOF12September 1996, NOANSWERS HAD BEEN RECEIVED.
25. NoquestionswereraisedwithrespecttothenotificationsoftheRepublicofGuineaorMyanmar.
26. TheChairman reminded Members thatthedeadline forsubmitting written versions ofquestions
raised orally atthemeeting was20May1996, andthatthedeadline forsubmitting written answers
toallwritten questions was20June1996.G/SG/M/6
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27. TheChairman permitted therepresentative ofKorea toraisetwofollow-up questions regarding
thepreviously-reviewed legislation oftheUnited States, butnoted thatfuture questions ofthistype
would havetoberaised pursuant towhatever procedures theCommittee adopted under Agenda itemG.
Thefirstquestion raised bytherepresentative ofKorea (pertaining totheanswer toKorea 'squestion 2)
waswhether, when USlegislation doesnotexplicitly reflect rulescontained intheSafeguards Agreement
(forexample, theprovisions ofArticle 7.6oftheAgreement), theAgreement itselfisapplied directly.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States responded thatunder USlaw,where thelawcontains noexplicit
provision, thePresident hasthediscretion tooperate consistently withinternational obligations. While
thisisdifferent fromdirect application oftheAgreement, theeffect isthesame. Thesecond question
raised bytherepresentative ofKorea (pertaining totheresponse toKorea 'squestion 3)waswhether
under USlawnegotiations onorderly marketing arrangements canbeundertaken onlyforthepurpose
ofadministering safeguard measures, thedecision forwhich hasalready beentaken inconformity with
Article XIXoftheAgreement. Therepresentative oftheUnited States replied thattheUnited States
would enter intonegotiations onsucharrangements onlyafteranaffirmative injury determination,
andthenpursuant totherulesoftheSafeguards Agreement, forexample, Article 5.TheUnited States
hadnever usedthisprovision (Section 203(A)(i)(a) oftheUSlegislation), socould provide nomore
specific information.
28. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
F. Status oflegislative notifications
29. TheChairman recalled that,byCommittee decision, allMembers arerequired tomake a
notification withrespect tothestatus oftheirsafeguards legislation, whether ornottheymaintain such
legislation. TheChairman reminded Members thatthedeadline forsubmission ofsuchnotifications
was15March 1995. Nevertheless, 46Members stillhadnotsubmitted therequired notification:
Antigua andBarbuda, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam,
BurkinaFaso,Burundi,Cameroon,CentralAfricanRepublic,Côted'Ivoire,Cyprus,Djibouti,Dominica,
Fiji,Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kuwait, Lesotho, Liechtenstein,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Qatar, St.Kitts&Nevis,
St.Lucia, St.Vincent &Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo,
Uganda, andtheUnited Arab Emirates. Theabsence ofnotifications from those Members withno
safeguards legislation wasinexplicable, inviewofthesimplicity ofnotifying inthissituation. Asmore
timecontinued topassafterthedeadline, thesituation became increasingly distressing, particularly
sincethefirstroundoflegislativereviewswasalmostcomplete.TheChairmanhopedthattheCommittee
could avoid asituation where thesecond round ofreviews oflegislative notifications would beconducted
without initial notifications evenhaving beenreceived fromalargenumber ofMembers. Hetherefore
urged allMembers whohadnotyetnotified astotheirlegislation todosowithout delay, andfurther
urged those whohadnotified totrytopersuade thenon-notifying Members tofollow theirexample.
30. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatement made.
G. Future review ofnotifications oflegislation pursuant toArticle 12.6oftheAgreement
31. TheCommitteeadoptedproceduresforthefuturereviewsoflegislativenotifications,asproposed
indocument G/SG/W/116, dated 16February 1996.
32. Therepresentative ofKorea proposed thatfuture reviews involving legislation applying to
Members ofregional arrangements bereviewed onanintegrated, rather thanindividual, basis. He
further stated thatreview ofpre-existing legislations wasnotnecessarily ameaningful exercise for
theCommittee, andthatwhere newlegislation clearly wastobeenacted, review bepostponed until
aftersuchlegislation wasinplace. TheChairman andtherepresentative from Venezuela noted thatG/SG/M/6
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thereareother mechanisms within theWTO todealwithregional arrangements, butthattheCommittee
could return tothisandanyother issues atalaterdate.
33. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
H. Schedule ofregular meetings ofthecommittee
34. TheCommittee approved theChairman 'sproposal thatasecond regular meeting, tobeheld
inconjunction withtheregular Spring meetings oftheCommittees onAnti-Dumping Practices and
onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures, beadded tothemeeting schedule oftheCommittee on
Safeguards.
I. Rules ofprocedure
35. TheCommittee adopted itsrulesofprocedure, ascontained indocument G/SG/W/59/Rev.1,
dated 20March 1996, anddirected theSecretariat toforward themtotheCouncil forTrade inGoods
forapproval inaccordance withparagraph 6ofArticle IVoftheWTO Agreement.1
36. TheChairman noted thattheSecretariat would continue itspractice ofissuing anannotated
draftagenda approximately fourtosixweeks inadvance ofregular meetings.
J. Format forminutes ofmeetings
37. TheChairman stated that,inviewofconcerns overthegrowing volume ofpaper generated
under theWTO, theSecretariat hadbeenrequested tokeepminutes ofmeetings asshort aspossible,
while ensuring thatMembers arekeptfullyinformed. Recognizing thattherulesofprocedure adopted
bytheCommittee require thatrecords oftheCommittee 'sdiscussions taketheform ofminutes, the
Secretariat wassomewhat limited intheextent towhich itcould shorten theminutes. Nevertheless,
within theseconstraints, theSecretariat would make every effort tokeepminutes asconcise aspossible.
38. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatement made.
K. Format fortheannual review andreport totheCommittee
39. TheCommittee decided, ashadtheAnti-Dumping andSubsidies Committees, thatitsannual
report for1996 would beafactual report onthestatus ofnotification obligations, onactions taken,
andonissues discussed anddecisions taken bytheCommittee. Thedraftreport would becirculated
totheCommittee bylateSeptember orearly October. Members thuswould havealonger thanusual
period tosubmit comments andsuggested additions. Thiswould provide theCommittee withan
opportunity torespond, ifitsodesired, totheGeneral Council Chairman 'srequest thattheCommittees '
annual reports discuss issues andproblems thattheyhaveidentified.
L. Simplification ofdatarequirements andstandardization offormats -advice totheWorking
Party onNotification Obligations andProcedures
40. TheChairman informed theCommittee thataletter hadbeenreceived from theChairman
oftheWorking Party onNotification Obligations andProcedures, seeking theCommittee 'sadvice
onanypossibilitiesforsimplificationofdatarequirementsandstandardizationofformats.TheChairman
1TheCouncil forTrade inGoods, pursuant toparagraph 6ofArticle IVoftheWTO Agreement,
approved theCommittee 'sRules ofProcedure atitsmeeting of22May1996 (G/C/M/10).G/SG/M/6
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recalled thatatpreceding meetings oftheCommittee, andatthismeeting, thequestions ofinformation
requirementsandnotificationformatshadbeendiscussed,andthatatanearlierpointduringthismeeting,
theCommittee hadadopted anewnotification format. Ittherefore appeared thattheCommittee probably
hadsaidasmuch asitcould onthese topics. Therepresentative oftheUnited States, inhiscapacity
asChairman oftheWorking Party onNotification Obligations andProcedures, noted thattheChairman
hadaddressed exactly thekinds ofissues thatwereofinterest totheWorking Party, andthathewould
welcome anyfurther comments oradvice from theCommittee.
41. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
M. Other business
42.The representative oftheUnited States recalled thatindocument WT/BOP/W/9, theGovernment
ofNigeria hadnotified theCommittee onBalance ofPayments ofcertain Article XIXmeasures, but
that,tothebestofhisdelegation 'sknowledge, these measures hadnotbeennotified totheCommittee
onSafeguards, although suchnotifications weretohavebeenmade notlessthan60daysafterentry
intoforce oftheWTO Agreement. Herequested thattheGovernment ofNigeria promptly notify the
measures totheCommittee onSafeguards. Therepresentative ofNigeria acknowledged that,during
Nigeria 'sbalance-of-payments review earlier intheyear, Nigeria hadpromised tomake such a
notification. Hestated thatthisnotification andNigeria 'slegislative notification would besubmitted
shortly totheSafeguards Committee. (Subsequently, thelegislative notification wasreceived, and
circulated asG/SG/N/1/NGA/1).
43. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
N. Dateofthenextregular meeting
44. TheChairman recalled thatatitsNovember 1995regular meeting, theCommittee hadagreed
toholdits1996 Autumn regular meeting during theweek of4November 1996. Subsequently, the
Chairman oftheGeneral Council hadrequested thattheschedule ofautumn meetings berearranged
tofacilitate preparations fortheSingapore Ministerial Conference.
45. TheCommitteeagreedtorescheduleitsAutumnregularmeetingto25October1996,asproposed
bytheChairman oftheGeneral Council.
O. Election ofofficers
46. TheCommittee elected Mr.JoséAntonio Buencamino ofthePhilippines asChairman ofthe
Committee, andMs.Laurence Wiedmer ofSwitzerland asVice-Chairman.