. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/DS253/1
G/L/533
G/SG/D24/1
8 April 2002
(02-1850)
Original:  English
UNITED STATES – DEFINITIVE SAFEGUARD MEASURES
ON IMPORTS OF CERTAIN STEEL PRODUCTS
Request for Consultations by Switzerland
The following communication, dated 3 April 2002, from the Permanent Mission of
Switzerland to the Permanent Mission of the United States and to the Chairman of the DisputeSettlement Body, is circulated in accordance with Article 4.4 of the DSU.
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Switzerland hereby requests consultations with the Government of the United States (US)
pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of
Disputes  (DSU), Article XXII:1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994  (GATT 1994)
and Article 14 of the Agreement on Safeguards  with regard to the definitive safeguard measures
imposed by the US on imports of certain steel products.
Under the "Proclamation 7529 of March 5, 2002 - To Facilitate Positive Adjustment to
Competition from Imports of Certain Steel Products" and the "Memorandum of March 5, 2002 -
Action Under Section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 Concerning Certain Steel Products by the
President of the US", published in the Federal Register Vol. 67, No. 45 of 7 March 2002, the US
imposed definitive safeguard measures on imports of certain steel products effective as of
20 March 2002.
Switzerland considers that the US measures are in violation of the US obligations under
provisions of GATT 94 and of the Agreement on Safeguards, in particular, but not necessarily
exclusively, of:
1. Article 2.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards because,  inter alia , they are based on deficient
determination on the like or directly competitive products, absence of increased imports and
the requisite conditions, lack of serious injury or threat thereof, or causation.
2. Article 2.2 of the Agreement on Safeguar ds and Article I of GATT 1994 because,  inter alia ,
they failed to apply the measure to all imports irrespective of their source.
3. Article 2.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards in conjunction with Article 2.2 because,
inter alia , they did not respect the requirement of parallelism between the scope of the
investigation of the injury arising from imported products and the scope of the safeguardmeasures.
4. Article 3 of the Agreement on Safeguards because, inter alia , they failed to set forth in the
published report the findings and reasoned conclusions on all pertinent issues of fact and law,WT/DS253/1
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G/SG/D24/1
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including the justification for the actual m easure imposed and the justification for the
exclusion of Canada and Mexico.
5. Articles 4(1) and 4(2) of the Agreement on Safeguards, because, inter alia , they are not
justified by "imports in such increased quantities" and/or "under such conditions", lack of
serious injury or threat thereof, lack of causality, and non-respect of the requirement of
parallelism between the scope of the imported products subject to the investigation and the
scope of the imported products subject to the application of the measures.
6. Article 5(1) of the Agreement on Safeguards, since, inter alia , they grant relief beyond "the
extent necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment".
7. Article 7(1) of the Agreement on Safeguards, since, inter alia , they grant relief beyond "the
period of time necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment".
8. Article 8.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards because, inter alia , they failed to maintain a
substantially equivalent level of concessions and other obligations.
9. Articles 12 of the Agreement on Safeguards because,  inter alia , they did not provide pertinent
information and "adequate opportunity" for consultations regarding the application of asafeguard measure.
10. Article I:1 of the GATT 1994, since, inter alia , the safeguard measure discriminates between
products originating in Switzerland and products originating in other WTO countries.
11. Article XIX:1 of the GATT 1994 because, inter alia , they failed to show prior to the
application of the measures, that the increases in imports and the conditions of importation of
the products covered by the above-mentioned measures were the result of "unforeseen
developments" and of the effect of the US obligations under the GATT 1994.
Switzerland looks forward to receiving a reply from the United States in order to fix a
mutually convenient date and place for consultations.
Switzerland reserves all its rights regarding the pursuit of the rights and remedies provided for
under the Agreement on Safeguards and the Dispute Settlement Understanding.
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