RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/SG/Q1/TUR/1
26July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2975)
Original: English Committee onSafeguards
NOTIFICATION OFLAWS AND REGULATIONS
UNDER ARTICLE 12.6OFTHE AGREEMENT
Replies ofTURKEY
toquestions posed byAUSTRALIA1,CANADA2,JAPAN3,
KOREA4AND THE UNITED STATES5
Thefollowingcommunicationdated16July1996,hasbeenreceivedfromthePermanentMission
ofTurkey.
_______________
Replies toquestions posed byAustralia:
Q1. While Article 2oftheDecree defines "domestic industry", theoperational provisions inrespect
ofinjury generally refer to"thedomestic producers ..."(e.g. Articles 1and6oftheDecree and
Articles 1,3,9,12and17oftheRegulation). Arethese references to"thedomestic producers ..."
tobeinterpreted asmeaning thesame as"domestic industry"?
A1. Ouranswer tothisquestion is"yes". Thereferences to"thedomestic producers ..."areto
beinterpreted asmeaning thesame as"domestic industry".
Q2. Could Turkey please explain theapplication ofitssafeguard legislation inrespect oftrade with
theEC.
A2. According totheprovisions ofArticle 61oftheAssociation Council Decision (95/1) between
Turkey andtheEC,dated 6March 1995, theParties oftheCustoms Union confirm thatthemechanism
andmodalities ofsafeguard measures provided forinArticle 60oftheAdditional protocol signed on
23November 1970 remain valid.
1G/SG/W/159
2G/SG/W/155
3G/SG/W/171
4G/SG/W/168 +Corr.1
5G/SG/W/174G/SG/Q1/TUR/1
Page2
Under Article 60oftheAdditional Protocol, theParties maytakethenecessary protective
measures "ifserious disturbances occur inasector oftheeconomy orprejudice theirexternal financial
stability,orifdifficultiesarisewhichadverselyaffecttheeconomicsituationofanyregionoftheparties."
Therefore, inlightofArticle 60,Turkey maytakesafeguard measures forimports from the
ECMember States within theframework ofthelegislation onsafeguards.
Q3. Is"unilaterally according totheprovisions oftheinternational agreements" inArticles 1(c)
and(d)oftheDecree interpreted asmeaning inaccordance withtheprovisions oftheSafeguards
Agreement? Could Turkey similarly clarify whatismeant byArticle 22(c) oftheRegulation.
A3. Theprinciples regarding thesafeguard measures tobetaken within theframework ofthe
Agreement onSafeguards arestated inArticle 1(b)oftheDecree.
Articles 1(c)and1(d)oftheDecree cover theprinciples concerning thequotas andtariffquotas
tobeapplied toimports within theframework ofthebilateral andmultilateral preferential trade
agreements orunilaterally according totheprovisions oftheinternational agreements other thanthe
Agreement onSafeguards.
TheimplementationRegulationonquotasandtariffquotaswaspreparedseparatelyandpublished
intheOfficial Gazette dated 1June1995 (No.22450).
Inthecasewhere theCommittee fortheEvaluation ofSafeguard Measures andSurveillance
forImports decides toimplement aquota asasafeguard measure, theallocation ofthisquota shall
bemade withrespect totheprovisions oftheImplementation Regulation onQuotas andTariff Quotas.
Ingeneral, Article 22(c) oftheRegulation indicates thattheprovisions ofthelegislation on
safeguardmeasuresdonotpreventtheimplementationoftheprovisionsofotherinternationalagreements.
Q4. Could Turkey clarify themeaning of"[t]he useofquotas incasetariff quotas areapplied"
inArticle 1(d)oftheDecree.
A4. InTurkey, theCouncil ofMinisters hastheauthority todecide theapplication oftariff quotas
byreducing customs tariffs ofaproduct oragroup ofproducts originating inacertain country or
countries foraspecific quantity orvalue within theframework ofbilateral andmultilateral preferential
trade agreements orunilaterally according totheprovisions oftheinternational agreements.
Article 1(d)oftheDecree covers theprinciples fortheapplication oftariff quotas.
Theprocedures concerning theuseoftariff quotas were determined bytheImplementation
Regulation onQuotas andTariff Quotas.
Q5. Could Turkey clarify which quotas aredetermined under Article 3(b)oftheDecree andthe
reason forthedifferent provisions inrespect ofquotas andtariff quotas (Article 3(b)and(c)ofthe
Decree).
A5. Article 3(b)oftheDecree gives authority totheUndersecretariat forForeign Trade for
determining quantity orvalue ofquotas aswellastheprinciples concerning allocation ofquotas to
beapplied within theframework ofbilateral andmultilateral preferential tradeagreements orunilaterally
according totheprovisions oftheinternational agreements, excluding thequotas tobeapplied in
accordance withtheAgreement onSafeguards. Thequotas tobeapplied assafeguard measures underG/SG/Q1/TUR/1
Page3
theprovisions oftheAgreement onSafeguards canonlybedetermined bytheCommittee onthe
Evaluation ofSafeguard Measures andSurveillance forImports mentioned inArticle 4oftheDecree.
Wewould liketopointoutthat,Article 3(c)oftheDecree givesauthority totheUndersecretariat
forForeign Trade theallocation oftariff quotas tobedecided bytheCouncil ofMinisters.
Forthisreason, paragraphs (b)and(c)ofArticle 3oftheDecree include different provisions
inrespect ofquotas andtariff quotas.
Q6. Atwhich stage isthedecision taken toimpose provisional measures? Ifitistaken early on
intheinvestigation, willthe200daylimitforprovisional measures reduce thetimeperiods allowed
inArticle 5oftheRegulation?
A.6 According toourRegulation ontheSafeguard Measures andSurveillance forImports, the
provisional measures canbetaken atanystage oftheinvestigation afterpreliminary determination.
Iftheprovisional measure istaken early onintheinvestigation, themaximum 200daylimit for
provisional measures willreduce thetimeperiod allowed inArticle 5oftheRegulation.
Q7. Thethirdparagraph ofArticle 12oftheRegulation setsoutthreefactors without anyhierarchy
tobetaken intoaccount indetermining thesizeofaquota. Thefactor inthesecond tiretissimilar,
though notidentical, tothecriterion inArticle 5.1oftheSafeguards Agreement (inparticular "[t]he
average levelofimports" would appear tobeabletobeassessed interms ofvalue rather thanquantity).
Isthisparagraph interpreted togivepriority tothecriterion setoutinArticle 5.1oftheSafeguards
Agreement?
A7. Ouranswer tothisquestion is"yes". Thethirdparagraph ofArticle 12oftheRegulation is
interpreted togivepriority tothecriterion setoutinArticle 5.1oftheSafeguards Agreement.
Replies toquestions posed byCanada:
Q1. What provision ofthenotified legislation establishes thecausality testbetween theincrease
ofimports andinjury, asrequired byArticle 4.2(b) ofWTO Agreement onSafeguards?
A1. Themain purpose ofthislegislation which wasprepared inconformity withtheAgreement
onSafeguards istodetermine whether theincrease ofimports cause serious injury orthreat ofserious
injury forthedomestic producers which produce likeordirectly competitive products. Therefore,
theexistence ofacausality linkshallbeevidenced totakeasafeguard measure.
Aninvestigation iscarried outtodetermine theexistence ofacausality linktotakeasafeguard
measure. Otherwise, itisnotpossible totakeameasure within theframework ofthislegislation.
Article 9oftheRegulation indicates theprocedure toverify theexistence ofacausality link
between anincrease inimports andinjury tothedomestic producers.
Ontheother hand, Paragraph 3.4oftheApplication Form (Annex II)which isanintegral
partofourRegulation clearly states thattheaimofthecollection ofinformation requested inthe
Application Form istoestablish thecausality linkbetween imports inquestion andinjury.G/SG/Q1/TUR/1
Page4
Q2. Whereinthenotifiedlegislationisitindicatedthattheextensionofanexistingsafeguardmeasure
ispossible onlyifthere isevidence thatthemeasure continues tobenecessary andthatthedomestic
industry isadjusting?
A2. Theconditions related totheextension ofanexisting safeguard measure areindicated inthe
second paragraph ofArticle 13oftheRegulation. Thesaidparagraph which isinconformity with
theprovision ofArticle 7.2oftheAgreement onSafeguards, isasfollows:
"Incaseswhere itisnecessary tocontinue thesafeguard measures toprevent orremedy
seriousinjuryanddeterminedevidenceshowsthattheindustriesconcernedareadjusting
themselves, theperiod ofthesafeguard measures canbeextended according tothe
results ofanewinvestigation tobeinitiated inaccordance withtheterms ofPartIII
andonthebasis oftheproducers whocause theadoption ofsafeguard measures ...".
Q3. Does theTurkish legislation and/or regulations allow forthepossibility ofhaving toprovide
compensation intheevent thatasafeguard measure isimposed?
A3. Ouranswer tothisquestion is"yes". Asamatter offact,Turkey 'slegislation allows forthe
possibility ofhaving toprovide compensation although thereisnospecific provision inthelegislation.
According toArticle 1(b)oftheDecree, theinternational obligations shallbetaken intoaccount
intheapplication ofasafeguard measure.
Ontheother hand, Article 14oftheRegulation covers aprovision regarding consultations
thatshallbeheldwithexporter country/countries concerned inorder toreach anagreement before
applying asafeguard measure. ThisArticle wasarranged inlightofArticle 8oftheAgreement on
Safeguards.
Q4. Could theTurkish delegation indicate inwhatcircumstances could retrospective surveillance
beimposed asindicated inArticle 10,Regulation OnTheSafeguard Measures ForImports?
Intheevent thatimports aresubject toasurveillance measure andthensubject toasafeguard
measure, would animporter ofthesubject goodhavetoprovide bothanimport licence andsurveillance
documents forthegoods toclear customs?
A4. Asisstated inArticle 10oftheRegulation, thepurpose ofsurveillance istomonitor the
developments inimports where thetrendinimports ofaproduct threatens tocause injury tothedomestic
producers.
IftheCommittee ontheEvaluation ofSafeguard Measures andSurveillance forImports needs
statistics onimports, earlier thanusual, itcanrequest therelevant authorities tosubmit statistics as
soonaspossible within theframework oftheretrospective surveillance. Insuchacase, there isno
needforasurveillance document inimport ofthesubject product.
Bothasafeguard measure andasurveillance arenotapplied toimports oftheproduct atthe
same time. When asafeguard measure isimposed, surveillance inforce isterminated. Therefore,
theimporters shallprovide either animport licence orasurveillance document forthecustoms clearance
oftheproduct.G/SG/Q1/TUR/1
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Q5. Could theTurkish delegation explain inwhatcircumstance would security berequired from
animporter seeking anallocation ofquotas asnoted inArticle 9oftheDecree?
A5. Thepurpose ofestablishing asecurity istoprovide effective useofquotas andtorealize the
imports inquestion. TheCouncil ofMinisters hastheauthority todecide thisimplementation upon
theproposal oftheCommittee ontheEvaluation ofSafeguard Measures andSurveillance forImports.
Actually,theprocedureconcerningtheallocationofquotashasbeendeterminedintheRegulation
onQuotas andTariff Quotas published intheOfficial Gazette dated 1June1995 (No.22450).
Thecollected security shallberefunded totheimporters aftertherealization ofimports within
theframework oftherelated provisions oftheRegulation.
Q6. InPartIVoftheregulation entitled "Regulation OnTheSafeguard Measures ForImports"
various administrative procedures aredescribed relating toimports subject tosurveillance. Article 11
provides details onsurveillance documents andtheroleplayed bytheUnder-Secretariat. Ifthe
Under-Secretariat failstoprovide thenecessary document within fivedays, cantheproduct inquestion
stillbeimported andwhataretheappeal procedures available totheimporter toobtain thedocument?
A6. TheUndersecretariat hastheresponsibility ofproviding thenecessary document, freeofcharge,
within fiveworking daysfrom thedateofreceipt oftheproperly prepared application. Itshould be
pointed outthattheUndersecretariat hasrestricted itselfbyfiveworking daysforthemaximum period
concerning theissuing ofalicence inspiteofaperiod oftenworking daysforeseen intheAgreement
onImport Licensing Procedures. According totheConstitution ofTurkey, public servants areunder
theobligation tocarry outtheirduties withloyalty totheConstitution andLaws. Therefore, ifthe
Undersecretariat failstoprovide thenecessary documents within theenvisaged period, theimporters
havetherighttoapply totheadministrative court which isindependent from theAdministration.
Q7. Article13,PartVoftheregulationentitled"RegulationOnTheSafeguardMeasuresForImports"
states thatthetotalapplication period ofasafeguard measure cannot exceed 10(ten)years. Please
explain theconsistency ofthisprovision withthatofArticle 7oftheWTO Agreement onSafeguards
which states thatthetotalapplication period ofasafeguard measure cannot exceed 8(eight) years.
A7. Theimplementation ofthisprovision willbefullyinconformity withtherelevant provisions
oftheAgreement onSafeguards.
Q8. InArticle 22,PartVIIoftheregulation entitled "Regulation OntheSafeguard Measures For
Imports" reference ismade tothefactthatthisRegulation doesnotprevent theapplication ofother
restrictions onimport trade. Please explain whatadministrative procedures Turkish officials would
follow inapplying these potential trade restriction measures.
A8. ThisRegulation covers theprocedures andprinciples related totheimplementation ofsafeguard
measures except those thatcanbetaken within theframework oftheprovision ofArticle 11.1(c) of
theAgreement onSafeguards.
Theprovision ofArticle 22oftheRegulation simply indicates thatthemeasures tobetaken
under theother international agreements andarrangements willbesubject totheirownprovisions.G/SG/Q1/TUR/1
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Replies toquestions posed byJapan:
Q1. Isthesurveillance ofimports provided forinthenotified legislation asafeguard measure?
(1) Ifso,istheinvestigation conducted before theinvocation ofthemeasure?
(2) Ifnot,howdoyouexplain thatthisisnotameasure which isprohibited byArticle 11
oftheAgreement onSafeguards?
A1. Surveillance isnotasafeguard measure. Thepurpose ofsurveillance isnottoremedy serious
injury orthreat ofserious injury, buttomonitor thechanges inthetrend ofimports oftheproduct
inquestion. Surveillance isinstituted when itseems, onthebasis ofananalysis oftheavailable data
concerning theeconomic factors listed inArticle 9oftheRegulation, thatthetrend ofimports appears
tothreaten tocause injury tothedomestic producers.
Thisisaverydifferent situation from thatdescribed inArticle 1(b)oftheDecree and1(b)
oftheRegulation, "Threat ofserious injury", which, inaccordance withthedefinition inArticle 4.1(b)
oftheAgreement onSafeguards, means aclearthreat ofasignficant overall impairment intheposition
ofdomestic producers which justifies theapplication ofsafeguard measures. Therefore, there isno
reaon, before applying asurveillance, toconduct aninvestigation.
Replies toquestions posed byKorea:
Q1. Article 6oftheDecree ontheSafeguard measures andSurveillance, andPartIVofthe
Regulation ontheSafeguard Measures andSurveillance forimports, prescribes theimport surveillance
measures tobetaken "incaseofimporting aproduct insuchincreased quantities and/or conditions
thatcancause threat ofinjury, ...".
Article 2oftheAgreement states thatasafeguard measure isapplied under suchconditions
astocause orthreaten tocause serious injury.
TheAgreement alsodoesnotallow foranyother measures priortothesafeguards investigation
procedures stipulated intheAgreement.
Weareoftheopinion thatimport surveillance contravenes theprovisions oftheAgreement,
andisalsoprohibited under Article 11oftheAgreement.
What explanations doesTurkey offerconcerning thismatter?
A1. Thepurpose ofsurveillance istomonitor thedevelopments inimports oftheproduct inquestion.
Itdoesnotrestrain imports. Itisaninstrument todetermine thetrendofcurrent andforeseeable imports
oftheproduct inquestion, when thetrend threatens tocause injury tothedomestic producers.
There aretwokindofsurveillance mentioned inourlegislation.
"Retrospective surveillance" means thatrelevant authorities communicate, earlier thanusual,
statistics onimports affected.
"Prior surveillance" involves asystem ofautomatic licences under theAgreement onImport
Licensing Procedures. Import documents areissued, freeofcharge, within fiveworking days, for
anyquantity requested.G/SG/Q1/TUR/1
Page7
Articles 1(a)and5(a)oftheDecree specify thatsurveillance maybeadopted where "thetrend
inimports ofaproduct threatens tocause injury todomestic producers".
Thisisaverydifferent situation from thatdescribed inArticle 1(b)oftheDecree and1(b)
oftheRegulation, "threat ofserious injury", which, inaccordance withthedefinition ofArticle 4.1(b)
oftheAgreement onSafeguards, means aclearthreat ofasignificant overall impairment intheposition
ofdomestic producers which justifies theapplication ofsafeguard measures.
Itisobvious thatsurveillance isnotasafeguard measure. Thepurpose oftheimplementation
ofasurveillance isnottoremedy serious injury orthreat ofserious injury. Itisinstituted solely to
monitor thetrend ofimports oftheproduct inquestion. Surveillance isinstituted, when itseems, on
thebasis oftheanalysis ofavailable dataconcerning theeconomic factors listed inArticle 9ofthe
Regulation, thatthetrend inimports appears tothreaten tocause injury tothedomestic producers.
Q2. Article 6oftheDecree ontheSafeguard measures andSurveillance, andPartVIofthe
Regulation ontheSafeguard measures andSurveillance forImports, stipulates that,"Iftheprovisional
measure applied shallensure theremedy ofserious injury, itshallbeapplied intheformofmaking
anincrease inthecustoms duties oftheproduct ...".
Thisisincontrast withArticle 6oftheAgreement onSafeguards which states thatsuchmeasures
should taketheformoftariff increases. TheAgreement, thus, doesnotplace anyconditionality on
theprovisional safeguard measures.
What isTurkey ’sexplanation forthisapparent inconsistency?
A2. Inourview, theAgreement onSafeguards, byusing theword "should", nottheword "must",
indicates apriority tobegiven totariff increases, butdoesnotentail afirmobligation toadopt such
measures. Inpractice, taking itsrefundable nature intoconsideration, thetariff increases maybe
preferred.
Replies toquestions posed bytheUnited States:
Q1. Article 3oftheRegulations describes theinjury standard aswhether "aproduct isimported
insuchincreased quantities and/or onsuchconditions aretocause aserious injury ofthreat ofserious
injury ..."(emphasis added). Is“increased quantities ”anecessary element foranaffirmative injury
determination?
A1. Thesecond paragraph ofArticle 12oftheRegulation setsouttheconditions forthe
implementationofsafeguardmeasuresinimportsfromtheWTOMembercountries.Thewords"and/or"
should beinterpreted inlightoftheprovision ofArticle 2oftheWTO Agreement onSafeguards.
InthecaseofaWTO Member, Turkey willapply safeguard measures onlywhen aproduct
isimported intoTurkey insuchincreased quantities andonsuchconditions astocause orthreaten
tocause serious injury tothedomestic producers. Inother words, asafeguard measure willbeapplied
when bothoftheconditions required byArticle 2.1oftheAgreement onSafeguards aremet.
Therefore, increased quantity isanecessary element, butitisnotsufficient foranaffirmative
injury determination. Other factors mentioned inArticle 4oftheAgreement onSafeguards andin
Article 9oftheRegulation shallbeevaluated aswell.G/SG/Q1/TUR/1
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Q2. Under Article 10oftheRegulations, isaformal determination ofthreat ofserious injury
necessary before surveillance maybeundertaken?
A2. Surveillance isapplied onthebasisofanexamination oftheeconomic factors setoutinArticle 9
oftheRegulation, incases where thetrend inimports seems tothreaten tocause injury tothedomestic
producers.
Surveillance isnotasafeguard measure. Therefore, aninvestigation isnotnecessary. Itcan
alsobeapplied atanystage oftheinvestigation afterthepreliminary determination, incases where
itisdetermined thatthetrend ofimports threatens tocause injury tothedomestic producers.
Q3. Issurveillance asafeguard measure under Article 5oftheAgreement onSafeguards?
A3. Ouranswer tothisquestion is"no". Because, thepurpose ofsurveillance isnottoremedy
serious injury orthreat ofserious injury. Thepurpose istomonitor closely thedevelopments inimports
oftheproduct inquestion, nottorestrain imports.
Q4. Howdo"prior" and"retrospective" surveillance differ?
A4. Asisstated before, thepurpose ofsurveillance istomonitor thedevelopments inimports of
theproduct inquestion, nottorestrain imports. Itisamechanism (instrument) todetermine thetrend
ofcurrent andforeseeable imports when thetrend threatens tocause injury tothedomestic producers.
Surveillance maybeoftwokinds: retrospective surveillance orprior surveillance.
"Retrospective surveillance" means thattheCommittee canrequest earlysubmission ofimport
statistics from therelevant authorities. Insuchacase, there isnoneedforasurveillance document
fortheimport ofgoods.
"Prior surveillance" involves asystem ofautomatic licences under theAgreement onImport
Licensing Procedures. Import documents areissued, freeofcharge, within fiveworking days, for
anyquantity requested.
Q5. Article 12oftheRegulations listslimiting theperiod ofvalidity ofaSurveillance Document
asapossible safeguard measure. Byimplication, doesthismean thatSurveillance Documents normally
haveanunlimited period ofvalidity?
A5. Ouranswer tothisquestion is"no". Thisdoesnotmean thatsurveillance documents have
anunlimited period ofvalidity. Generally, decisions introducing surveillance setthetime-limits for
theirimplementation. Otherwise, thegeneral ruleisthatsurveillance comes toanendattheendof
thesecond 6month period afteritisintroduced.
Q6. Theonlymention oftariff-related safeguards actions intheprovisions notified byTurkey are
tariffquotas, mentioned inArticle 3oftheDecree, andtariffincreases asprovisional relief mentioned
inArticle 7oftheDecree.
(a) Isasimple tariff increase permissible asadefinitive safeguard action?
(b) Article 2oftheDecree defines atariff quota as"tomake areduction orprovide an
exemption onthecustoms duties rates foraspecific quantity orvalue ofaproduct or
group ofproducts." (emphasis added). Does thismean thattheuseofatariff quota
under theDecree islimited tocases inwhich duties arebeing reduced?G/SG/Q1/TUR/1
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A6. (a) According totheprovisions ofthelegislation, tariffincreases willbeimplemented only
asaprovisional safeguard measure.
(b) Thetariffquotas areoutside thescope ofthesafeguard measures. TheImplementation
Regulation onTariff Quotas wasprepared separately andpublished intheOfficial
Gazette dated 1June1995. According tothisRegulation, theCouncil ofMinisters
hastheauthority toapply tariffquotas within theframework ofinternational agreements
orarrangements.
Q7. Article 13oftheRegulations provides, among other things, that(a)relief maybeprovided
foratotaloftenyears; and(b)theperiod between repeat safeguards measures onthesame product
isthegreater oftwoyears orhalftheperiod oftheprevious measure. Howaretheseelements consistent
withtheprovisions ofparagraphs 3and5ofArticle 7oftheAgreement onSafeguards?
A7. Theprovision ofArticle 13oftheRegulation isinconformity withtheprovisions ofArticle 7.2,
7.3and9.2oftheAgreement onSafeguards.
Itisclearly indicated inArticle 1(b)oftheDecree that,thesafeguard measures shallbeapplied
onlyforsuchperiod oftimeasmaybenecessary toprevent orremedy serious injury orthreat ofserious
injury andtofacilitate adjustments inthedomestic industry.
Themaximum totalperiod mentioned inArticle 13oftheRegulation isthesame period as
foreseen intheAgreement onSafeguards. Intheimplementation, incases where itisnecessary to
extend theapplication period ofasafeguard measure, theprovisions ofArticles 7.2,7.3and9.2of
theAgreement onSafeguards willbeobserved.
Theprovision regarding theimplementation ofanewsafeguard measure iscovered inthefourth
paragraph ofArticle 13oftheRegulation.
Webelieve thatthemisunderstanding appeared duetoatranslation error. Thecorrected
translation ofthefourth paragraph isasfollows:
"Within thescope oftheRegulation, nosafeguard measure shallbeapplied
toimports ofaproduct which hasalready beensubject tosuchmeasure, foraperiod
oftimeequal tohalfthatduring which suchmeasure hasbeenpreviously applied,
provided thattheperiod ofnon-application isatleast2(two) years."