G/SG/N/8/TUN/1  
G/SG/N/10/TUN/1  
G/SG/N/11/TUN/1  
21 December  2023 
(23-8790) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Safeguards  Original:  French  
 
  
NOTIFICATION, UNDER ARTICLE 12.1(B) OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS,  
OF A FINDING OF SERIOUS INJURY OR THREAT THEREOF CAUSED  
BY INCREASED IMPORTS  
NOTIFICATION, UNDER ARTICLE 12.1(C) OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS,  
OF THE DECISION TO APPLY A SAFEGUARD MEASURE  
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 9, FOOTNOTE 2, OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS  
TUNISIA  
Wire of iron or non -alloy steel used in the manufacture of up holstery and mattress springs  
The following communication, dated and received on 21  December  2023, is being circulated at the 
request of the delegation of Tunisia.  
 
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Pursuant to  the safeguard investigation on imports of wire of iron or non -alloy steel used in the 
manufacture of upholstery and mattress springs, and in accordance with  Article  12.1(b) and 12.1(c) 
of the Agreement on Safeguards, Tunisia hereby notifies a finding of serious injury to the domestic 
industry producing the product co ncerned, and the definitive safeguard measure proposed. This 
notification contains all pertinent information in respect of the proposed safeguard measure, in 
accordance with Article  12.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards, and an offer to hold consult ations  
with Members having a substantial interest as exporters of the product concerned, in accordance 
with Article 12.3 of the Agreement.  
The investigation was initiated on 9  July 2022 pursuant  to the cited article  (date of publication of 
the notice of initiation in Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic (JORT) No.  80 of 19 July 2022). 
G/SG/N/6/TUN/7 . 
Based on the data gathered over the course of the investigation period and taking into account the 
observations of the parties participating in the investigation, a final report of the investigation has 
been prepared in order to determine whether the necessary conditions exist for the in troduction of 
safeguard measures in favour of the sector producing wire of iron or non -alloy steel used in the 
manufacture of upholstery and mattress springs.  
1  DETERMINATION OF THE DOMESTIC INDUSTRY  
In the context of this investigation, the domestic industr y producing wire of iron or non -alloy steel 
used in the manufacture of upholstery and mattress springs is represented by Maklada SA as the 
only domestic producer of this product. The company filed a petition in accordance with the 
provisions of Law No. 98 -106 of 18 December 1998 on safeguard measures  in respect of imports , 
which requires the Minister responsible for trade to initiate an investigation in  the area of  safeguard 
measures  in respect of  imports . G/SG/N/8/TUN/1 • G/SG/N/10/TUN/1 • G/SG/N/11/TUN/1  
 
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  2  PRODUCT CONCERNED BY THE INVESTIGATION AND LIKE PRO DUCTS MANUFACTURED 
LOCALLY  
The product concerned is wire of iron or non -alloy steel used in the manufacture of upholstery and 
mattress springs falling under the following tariff codes:  
• 72171050002: Wire of iron or non-alloy steel, not coated, for use in th e manufacture of 
furniture screws, with an average carbon content of between 0.25% and 0.6%.  
• 72171090100: Wire of iron or non-alloy steel, not coated, for use in the manufacture of 
furniture screws, with an average carbon content o f more than 0.6%.  
3  MASSIVE  IMPORTS OF THE PRODUCT CONCERNED  
On the basis of the  statistical data on imports of the product concerned , the investigation team found 
that: 
• The volume of imports of the product concerned  rose from 1,274  tonnes in 2017 to around 
4,728 tonnes in 2021, an increase of 271% during the period of investigation.  
• The market share of the imported product grew from 27.5% in 2017 to 64% in 2022.  
4  UNFORESEEN DEVELOPMENTS IN IMPORTS  
The Investigating Authority concluded that the increase in the volume of impor ts of wire of iron or 
non-alloy steel used in the manufacture of upholstery and mattress springs was the result of 
unforeseen developments caused by a combination of factors.  
The most significant of these factors is the unprecedented growth in iron and ste el production 
capacity worldwide, a trend that has intensified despite the many protectionist measures adopted 
by most countries. The rise in global production of these materials is mainly due to government 
support measures that have helped to reduce produ ction costs and encourage investment in the 
sector, thereby increasing surplus production capacity around the world. This finding is supported 
by numerous pertinent reports.  
The increase in global production of steel products and the unexpected growth in excess production 
capacity ha ve prompted producers of these materials to look for other markets for their products 
after meeting the needs of the domestic market. This has led to an increase in the volume of imports 
on export markets and intensif ied competition in the sector.  
5  EVIDENCE OF INJURY TO THE DOMESTIC INDUSTRY REPRESENTED BY THE APPLICANT 
COMPANY  
Having studied the various indicators of the domestic industry of the product concerned , the 
investigation team reached the following conclusion s: 
• The applicant company's production of the product in question increased by 26.3% 
between 2017 and 2021, mainly as a result of the company's improved export 
performance.  
• The applicant company's sales volume on the local market decreased by some 760 tonne s 
between 2017 and 2021.  
• The company's losses in recent years peaked in 2020 at TND  1.1 million.  
• The share of locally -produced product on the local market fell in recent years by around 
37% between 2017 and 2021.  
• The applicant company was unable to increas e its productivity, as of its theoretical 
production capacity , no more than  58% was utilized  in 2021.  
• The applicant's inventory of wire of iron and non -alloy steel increased by more than 200% 
between 2020 and 2021.  
• The workforce employed directly and indir ectly by the applicant shrank by 47.74% between 
2018 and 2021.  G/SG/N/8/TUN/1 • G/SG/N/10/TUN/1 • G/SG/N/11/TUN/1  
 
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  6  CAUSAL LINK BETWEEN MASSIVE IMPORTS AND INJURY TO THE DOMESTIC INDUSTRY  
The investigation team has confirmed that no reasons or factors other than the massive imports 
contributed to the injury to the domestic industry. The domestic industry manufactures p roducts 
that are of better quality than most imported like products. This explains the improvement in the 
applicant company's export performance in recent years, in contrast to the  fall in local market sales 
as a result of massive imports of like products.  
7  DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE TO BE APPLIED  
The safeguard measure was implemented by the Order of the  Minister responsible for trade of 
28 November  2023 and published in Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic No.  138-2023.  
The measure imposes  quantitative restrictions on imports of wire of iron or non -alloy steel used in 
the manufacture of upholstery a nd mattress springs under the tariff codes 72171050002 and 
72171090100 for a period of three years from the date of publication of the Order.  
These restrictions will be phased out in accordance with the following schedule:  
Period  Authorized import q uantity  
From the date of publication to 30/11/2024  764 tonnes  
From 01/12/2024 to 30/11/2025  1,020 tonnes  
From 01/12/2025 to 30/11/2026  1,274 tonnes  
 
8  DEVELOPING COUNTRIES EXEMPT FROM THE SAFEGUARD MEASURE  
Imports from developing country WTO Members shall not be subject to the proposed definitive 
safeguard measures as long as each  individual  Member's exports do not exceed 3% of total imports 
into Tunisia, and provided that these countries collectively accoun t for not more than 9% of total 
imports into Tunisia.  
The address of the competent authority for correspondence is:  
Ministère du Commerce et du Développement des Exportations , 
Direction Générale du Commerce Extérieur , 
Angle entre les Rues Ghana et Pierre de Coubertin et Hédi Nouira , Tunis , 1001 Tunisia.  
Tel.: +216 71 245 913 / +216 71 330  896 
Fax: +216 71 354  456 
Email: dorra.borji@tunisia.gov.tn  
 hichem.khalfa@tunisia.gov.tn  
 
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