RESTRICTED  
  
S/WPGR/W/64  
 
4 September 2014  
(14-5023)  Page: 1/34  
Working Party on GATS Rules    
 
 SAFEGUARD-TYPE PROVISIONS IN EC ONOMIC INTEGRATION AGREEMENTS - 
A CONSOLIDATED LIST AS OF 31 JULY 2014 
BASED ON NOTIFICATIONS TO THE WTO UNDER ARTICLE V OF THE GATS1 
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT2 
 
_______________ 
 
Table of Contents 
1   INTROD UCTION  .......................................................................................................... 3  
2   RELEVANT PROVISIONS, IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THEIR 
ENTRY INTO FORCE .......................................................................................................... 4  
2.1   Enlargement of the European Union to 28 Member States (1 July 2013) −  Act 
concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia and the adjustments to 
the Treaties on which the Eu ropean Union is  founded ............................................................. 4  
2.2   Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement 'MAFTA' (1  January 2013) ................................. 5  
2.3   Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the 
Republic of India and the Government of Malaysia (1 July 2011) .............................................. 6  
2.4   New Zealand-Malaysia Free Tr ade Agreement (1 August 2010) ........................................ 6  
2.5   Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area 
'AANZFTA' (1 January 2010) ............................................................................................... 6  
2.6   Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Korea 
and the Republic of Indi a (1 January  2010) .......................................................................... 7  
2.7   Agreement on Trade in Services between  the Government of the People's Republic 
of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan  (10 Octobe r 2009) .................. 7  
2.8   Agreement between Japan and the Social ist Republic of Viet Nam for an Economic 
Partnership (1 Oc tober 2009) ............................................................................................. 7  
2.9   Agreement on Trade in Servic es under the Framework Agreement on 
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation among the Governments of the Member Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Na tions and the Republic of Korea 'AKFTA' 
(1 May 2009) .................................................................................................................. . 8
 
2.10   Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and 
their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part  (1 Apri l 2009 ) ................................................................................................................ .. 8
 
2.11   China-Singapore Free Trade Ag reement 'CSFTA' (1  January 2009) .................................. 9  
2.12   Free Trade Agreement between the Government of New Zealand and the 
Government of the People's Repub lic of China (1 October 2008) .............................................. 9  
                                               
1 In this Note, the economic integration agreements ar e referred to by their official titles to facilitate 
access to more details from the relevant sources. 
2 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  2.13   Agreement between Japan and the Republic of Indonesia for an Economic 
Partnership (1 July 2008) ................................................................................................... 9  
2.14   Agreement between the Government of Pakistan and the Government of Malaysia 
for a Closer Economic Partnership (1 January 2008) .............................................................. 10 
2.15   Agreement between Japan and the Kingdom of Thailand for an Economic 
Partnership (1 November  2007 ) ......................................................................................... 10 
2.16   Agreement on Trade in Services of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive 
Economic Co-Operation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the 
People's Republic of China (1 Ju ly 2007)  ............................................................................. 10 
2.17   Enlargement of the European Union to 27 Member States (1 January 2007) −  Act 
concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania and the 
adjustments to the Treaties on whic h the European Un ion is founded ...................................... 11 
2.18   Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of Malaysia for 
an Economic Partnership (13 July 2006) .............................................................................. 12 
2.19   Singapore-Jordan Free Trade Agreement 'SJFTA' (22 August  2005)  ................................ 12 
2.20   Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of India 
and the Republic of Sing apore (1 Au gust 2005) .................................................................... 12 
2.21   Australia-Thailand Free Tr ade Agreement (1  January  2005 ) .......................................... 13 
2.22   Enlargement of the European Union to 25 Member States (1 May 2004) −  Act 
concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of 
Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the 
Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded .......................................................................................................................... 13
 
2.23   Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and 
their Member States, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of 
the other part (1 Apri l 2004)  ............................................................................................. 14 
2.24   Mainland and Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (17 October 2003) .......... 15 
2.25   Singapore-Australia Free Trad e Agreement 'SAFTA ' (28 July  2003)  ................................ 15 
2.26   Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement 
(29 June 2003) ................................................................................................................ 15 
2.27   Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas esta blishing the Caribbean Community including 
the Caricom Single Market and Economy (4 July 2002) .......................................................... 16 
2.28   Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association 'EFTA' − 
Consolidated version, last amende d on 1 July 2013 (1  June 2002) .......................................... 18 
2.29   Free Trade Agreement between the Dominican Republic and Central America  
(4 October 2001) (unofficial translation from Spanish)  .......................................................... 18 
2.30   Enlargement of the European Union to 15 Member States (1 January 1995) −  Act 
concerning the conditions of accession of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties 
on which the European  Union is founded ............................................................................. 19
 
2.31   The Agreement on the European Economic Area 'EEA' − Consolidated version, last 
updated on 12 April 2014 (1 Janua ry 1994)  ......................................................................... 19 
2.32   The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1 January  1994)  ........................... 20 
3   CONCLUDING  REMARKS ............................................................................................ 21  
ANNEX I ....................................................................................................................... .. 22 
ANNEX II ...................................................................................................................... . 28 
ANNEX III ..................................................................................................................... . 34 
 S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  At the meeting of the Working Party on GATS Rules on 7 May 2014, Members asked the 
Secretariat to update its compilation of safeguard-type provisions contained in economic integration agreements − the latest version of which is contained in the Note on  Safeguard-type 
Provisions in Economic Integration Agreements  (S/WPGR/W/4/Add.2 of 25 March 2009). This Note 
builds upon and complements the previous notes issu ed by the Secretariat on the same subject in 
documents S/WPGR/W/2, S/WPGR/W/4 and S/WPGR/W /4/Add.1 and Add.2, and should thus be 
read in conjunction with them. 
1.2.  Since the last Note, many new developments have occurred. On the one hand, 65 new 
economic integration agreements  have been notified to the WTO pursuant to Article V 
paragraph 7(a) of the GATS. Annexes I and II show the 122 agreements notified under this 
Article  since 1995 that are currently in force.
3  Annex I lists them in reverse chronological order, 
and Annex II alphabetically.  On the other hand, 16 agreements  that had been covered in 
Secretariat Note S/WPGR/W/4/Add.2 have lapsed  since (see Annex III). Among the agreements 
that have become inactive there are the 11 so-called "Europe Agreements", or other agreements, 
that established an Association with the European Union;4  as well as the free trade agreements 
concluded by Mexico respectively with Costa Rica; El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras; and 
Nicaragua, which are no longer applicable since the entry into force, in September 2012, of the 
Mexico - Central America Free Trade Agreement concluded among these same countries.     
1.3.  In light of the above-mentioned developments it was considered useful, for further ease of 
reference, to consolidate  the body of information availabl e on safeguard-type and safeguard-
related provisions in economic integration agreements hitherto notified under Article V 
paragraph 7(a) of the GATS and currently in force into a new document. This Note deals only 
with agreements that have been notified and are currently in force. It does not cover agreements 
that are no longer in force, or those − already signed or still under negotiation − that have only 
been the object of an early announcement. Hereafter, the terms "regional trade agreements" (RTAs) and "economic integration agreements" (EIAs) are used interchangeably.
5 
1.4.  As in the preceding Secretariat documents S/WPGR/W/4, Addendum 1 and 2, this Note 
leaves aside  all the general  exceptions in the sense of GATS Article XIV as well as the security  
exceptions in the sense of GATS Article XIV bis. Likewise, it does not deal with measures to 
remedy balance-of-payments difficulties in the sens e of GATS Article XII, or measures restricting 
cross-border capital transactions in cases where movements of capital threaten to cause serious 
difficulties for macroeconomic management. Nor does this Note take into account any measure falling under the prudential carve-out. It also disregards other types of measures found in some 
RTAs, such as exceptions (or non-conforming measures) to protect the environment or conserve 
natural resources; social, labour or consumer protection clauses; safeguards to protect the right to privacy; etc.   
1.5.  The provisions reproduced below focus on sector-specific or indu stry-specific safeguard 
provisions  comparable to GATT Article XIX  ("Emergency Action on Imports of Particular 
Products"). Unlike the measures mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, they aim to prevent serious injury to a particular service sector as a consequence of the trade commitments 
undertaken in the agreement in question. Finally, as the preceding Secretariat Notes on the same 
topic, this Note does not purport in any way to prejudge the nature, or qualification, of the measures referred to as "emergency safeguard me asures" within the meaning of GATS Article X. 
                                               
3 The cut-off date for the notifications in this Note is 31 July 2014.   
4 Following the enlargement process of the European Union, 11 Agreements have been terminated:  on 
1 May 2004 those regarding the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic; on 1 January 2007 those for Bulgaria and Romania; and on 1 July 2013 the one with Croatia.  
See WTO documents WT/REG/GEN/N/3, WT/REG/GEN/N/4 and WT/REG/GEN/N/6 for further details. In addition,
 the agreements establishing customs unions between, on the one part, the European Communities 
and its member states and, on th e other, Malta and Cyprus respectively, also lapsed on 1 May 2004 (see 
document WT/REG/GEN/N/3). 
5 Information on RTAs notified to the WT O is available in the RTA Database under 
http://rtais.wto.org/UI/PublicMaintainRTAHome.aspx . S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  2  RELEVANT PROVISIONS, IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THEIR ENTRY INTO 
FORCE6 
2.1  Enlargement of the European Union to 28 Member States (1 July 2013) −  
Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia and the 
adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded 
Part Four (Temporary provisions ), Title IV (Other provisions) 
Article 37 
"1. If, until the end of a period of up to th ree years after accession, difficulties arise 
which are serious and liable to persist in any sector of the economy or which could bring about serious deterioration in the economic situation of a given area, Croatia may apply for authorisation to take protective measures in order to rectify the 
situation and adjust the sector concerned to the economy of the internal market.  
In the same circumstances, any present Member State may apply for authorisation to 
take protective measures with regard to Croatia.  
2. Upon request by the State concerned, the Commission shall, by emergency 
procedure, determine the protective measures which it considers necessary, specifying the conditions and arrangements applicable thereto.  
In the event of serious economic difficultie s and at the express request of the Member 
State concerned, the Commission shall act within five working days of the receipt of the request accompanied by the relevant ba ckground information. The measures thus 
decided on shall be applicable forthwith, shall take into account the interest of all 
parties concerned and shall not entail border controls.  
3. The measures authorized under this Arti cle may involve derogations from the rules 
of the TEU, the TFEU and this Act to such an  extent and for such periods as are strictly 
necessary in order to attain the objectives of this safeguard. Priority shall be given to 
measures which least disturb the functioning of the internal market." 
Article 38  
"If Croatia fails to fulfil commitments undertaken in the context of the accession 
negotiations, including commitments in any sectoral policy which concerns economic activities with a cross-border effect, thereby causing a serious breach of the functioning of the internal market or a threat to the Union's financial interests or an 
imminent risk of such a breach or threat, the Commission may, until the end of a 
period of up to three years after accession,  upon reasoned request of a Member State 
or on its own initiative, take appropriate measures.  
These measures shall be proportionate and priority shall be given to measures which 
least disturb the functioning of the internal  market and, where appropriate, to the 
application of the existing sectoral safeguard mechanisms. The safeguard measures 
under this Article shall not be invoked as a means of arbitrary discrimination or a 
disguised restriction on trade between Member States. The safeguard clause may be invoked even before accession on the basis of the monitoring findings and the measures adopted shall enter into force on the date of accession unless they provide 
for a later date. The measures shall be maintained no longer than strictly necessary 
and, in any case, shall be lifted when the relevant commitment has been fulfilled. They may, however, be applied beyond the period referred to in the first paragraph as 
long as the relevant commitments have no t been fulfilled. In response to progress 
made by Croatia in fulfilling its commitments, the Commission may adapt the measures as appropriate. The Commission shall inform the Council in good time 
                                               
6 The date indicated in parenthesis after each agreem ent is its date of entry into force of either the 
whole agreement or its chapter on trade in services. S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  before revoking the safeguard measures, and it shall take duly into account any 
observations of the Council in this respect." 
Annex V: List referred to in Article 18 of the Act of Accession: transitional 
measures  
Section 2: Free Movement of Persons 
"[…] 7. Those Member States in which, by virt ue of paragraphs 3, 4 or 5, Articles 1 to 
6 of Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 apply as regards Croatian nationals, may resort to 
the procedures set out in the second and third subparagraphs of this paragraph until 
the end of the seven year period following the date of accession.  
When a Member State referred to in the first subparagraph undergoes or foresees 
disturbances on its labour market which could seriously threaten the standard of living 
or level of employment in a given region or occupation, that Member State shall 
inform the Commission and the other Member States thereof and shall supply them with all relevant particulars. On the basis of this information, the Member State may 
request the Commission to state that the application of Articles 1 to 6 of Regulation 
(EU) No 492/2011 is wholly or partially suspended in order to restore to normal the situation in that region or occupation. The Commission shall decide on the suspension 
and on the duration and scope thereof no la ter than two weeks after receiving such a 
request and shall notify the Council of its decision. Any Member State may, within two weeks of the Commission's decision, request the Council to annul or amend that decision. The Council shall act on such a request within two weeks, by qualified 
majority.  
A Member State referred to in the first subparagraph may, in urgent and exceptional 
cases, suspend the application of Articles 1 to 6 of Regulation (EU) No 492/2011, 
followed by a reasoned ex post notification to the Commission." 
2.2  Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement 'MAFTA' (1 January 2013) 
Article 8.13 of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services)  
Emergency Safeguard Measures  
"1. The Parties shall initiate discussions within one year from the entry into force of 
this Agreement to develop mutually acceptable guidelines and procedures for the application of emergency safeguard measures within five years of the entry into force 
of this Agreement.  
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, if:  (a) a Party considers it has suffered a substantial adverse impact caused by a specific 
commitment in Annex 3 (Schedules of Specific Services Commitments) or Annex 4 
(Schedules of Movement of Natural Persons Commitments); and  
(b) a Party provides for more favourable treatment under this Agreement than the 
Party is obliged to provide to services and service suppliers of the other Party under 
GATS or the AANZFTA Agreement at the time this Agreement enters into force, the affected Party may request consultations with the other Party to deal with such situation and the requested Party shall respond to the request in good faith.  
3. In undertaking such consultations, the Parties shall endeavour to reach a mutually 
acceptable solution within a reasonable time."  S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  2.3  Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the 
Republic of India and the Government of Malaysia (1 July 2011) 
Article 8.13 of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services)  
Safeguard Measures 
"1. The Parties note that multilateral negotiations pursuant to Article X of GATS on the 
question of emergency safeguard measures are based on the principles of non-discrimination. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall 
conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments to this 
Agreement so as to incorporate the results of the multilateral negotiations. 
2. In the event that the implementation of this Agreement causes substantial adverse 
impact to a service sector of a Party before the conclusion of the multilateral 
negotiations referred to in paragraph 1, the affected Party may request for 
consultations with the other Party for the purposes of discussing any measure with respect to the affected service sector. Any measure taken pursuant to this paragraph, 
including the duration for which the measure shall apply, shall be mutually agreed by 
the Parties concerned. The Parties concerned shall take into account the circumstances of the particular case and give sympathetic consideration to the Party 
seeking to take a measure." 
2.4  New Zealand-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (1 August 2010) 
Article 8.12 of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services) Emergency Safeguard Measures  
"1. The Parties shall initiate discussions within one year from the entry into force of 
this Agreement to develop mutually acceptable guidelines and procedures for the application of emergency safeguard measures . These guidelines and procedures shall 
be annexed to and shall form part of this Agreement. 
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, if a Party deems to be affected by the negative 
impact caused by its specific commitments as set out in Annex 4 (Schedules of 
Specific Services Commitments), that Party may request to hold a consultation with 
the other Party and the other Party shall re spond to such a request in good faith. 
3. In the consultations, the Parties shall endeavour to reach a mutually acceptable 
solution within a reasonable time." 
2.5  Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-A ustralia-New Zealand Free Trade Area 
'AANZFTA' (1 January 2010) 
Article 19 of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services)  
Safeguard Measures  
"1. The Parties note the multilateral negotiations pursuant to Article X of GATS on the 
question of emergency safeguard measures based on the principle of non-
discrimination. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall 
conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments to this Agreement so as to incorporate the results of such multilateral negotiations.  
2. In the event that the implementation of  the commitments made in this Agreement 
causes substantial adverse impact to a service sector of a Party before the conclusion 
of the multilateral negotiations referred to in Paragraph 1, the affected Party may request consultations with the other Party or Parties. The requested Party or Parties 
shall enter into consultations with the requesting Party on the commitments that the 
requested Party or Parties consider may have caused substantial adverse impact and S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  on the possibility of the requesting Party adopting any measure to alleviate such 
impact. The requesting Party shall notify all the other Parties of their request for consultations under this Paragraph.  
3. Any measures taken pursuant to Paragraph 2 shall be mutually agreed by the 
Parties concerned.  
4. The consulting Parties shall notify the results of the consultations to all other 
Parties as soon as practicable and by no la ter than the next meeting of the Services 
Committee established pursuant to Article 24 (Committee on Trade in Services) 
following the conclusion of consultations."  
2.6  Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Korea 
and the Republic of India (1 January 2010) 
Article 6.11 of Chapter 6 (Trade in Services)  
Safeguard Measures  
"1. Neither Party shall take safeguard action against services and service suppliers of 
the other Party from the date of entry into force of this Agreement. Neither Party shall 
initiate or continue any safeguard investigations in respect of services and service suppliers of the other Party. 
2. The Parties shall review the issue of  safeguard measures in the context of 
developments in international fora of which both Parties are party." 
2.7  Agreement on Trade in Services between the Government of the People's Republic 
of China and the Government of the Islami c Republic of Pakistan (10 October 2009) 
Article 9  
Emergency Safeguards Measures  
"1. The Parties note that the multilateral negotiations pursuant to Article X of the 
GATS on the question of emergency safeguar d measures are based on the principle of 
non-discrimination. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments to this 
Agreement so as to incorporate the results of such multilateral negotiations.  
2. In the event that the implementation of this Agreement causes substantial adverse 
impact to a service sector of a Party before the conclusion of the multilateral negotiations referred to in paragraph 1 of th is Article, the affected Party may request 
for consultations with the other Party for the purposes of discussing any measure with 
respect to the affected service sector. Any measure taken pursuant to this paragraph shall be mutually agreed by the Parties concerned. The Parties concerned shall take 
into account the circumstances of the particular case and give sympathetic 
consideration to the Party seeking to take a measure." 
2.8  Agreement between Japan and the Socialis t Republic of Viet Nam for an Economic 
Partnership (1 October 2009) 
Article 73 of Chapter 7 (Trade in Services) Emergency Safeguard Measures "In the event that the implementation of this Agreement causes substantial adverse 
impact to a Party in a specific service sector, the Party may request consultations with 
the other Party for the purposes of taking appropriate measures to address such adverse impact. In such consultations, the Parties shall take into account the 
circumstances of the particular case and the result of the multilateral negotiations S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  pursuant to Article X of the GATS if the sa id negotiations have been concluded at the 
time of such consultations." 
2.9  Agreement on Trade in Services under the Framework Agreement on 
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation among the Governments of the Member Countries 
of the Association of Southeast Asian Na tions and the Republic of Korea 'AKFTA' 
(1 May 2009) 
Article 10 
Safeguards  
"The Parties note the multilateral negotiations pursuant to Article X of the GATS on 
the question of emergency safeguard measures based on the principles of non-discrimination. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall 
conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments to this 
Agreement so as to incorporate the results of the multilateral negotiations. 
2. In the event that the implementation of this Agreement causes substantial adverse 
impact to a service sector of a Party before the conclusion of the multilateral 
negotiations referred to in paragraph 1, the affected Party may request for consultations with the other Party for the purposes of discussing any measure with 
respect to the affected service sector. Any measure taken pursuant to this paragraph 
shall be mutually agreed by the Parties concerned. The Parties concerned shall take into account the circumstances of the particular case and give sympathetic consideration to the Party seeking to take a measure." 
2.10  Stabilisation and Association Agreemen t between the Europe an Communities and 
their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part  
(1 April 2009) 
Title V (Movement of Workers, Estab lishment, Supply of Services, Current 
Payments and Movements of Capital) 
Chapter II (Establishment) 
Article 56 
"During the first five years following the date  of entry into force of this Agreement, 
Albania may, on a transitional basis, introduce measures which derogate from the provisions of this Chapter as regards the establishment of Community companies and 
nationals of certain industries which: 
– are undergoing restructuring, or are facing serious difficulties, particularly where 
these entail serious social problems in Albania, or 
– face the elimination or a drastic reduction of the total market share held by Albanian 
companies or nationals in a given sector or industry in Albania, or 
– are newly emerging industries in Albania. 
Such measures: 
(i) shall cease to apply at the latest seven years after the date of entry into force of 
this Agreement; 
(ii) shall be reasonable and necessary in order to remedy the situation; and S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  (iii) shall not introduce discrimination concerning the activities of Community 
companies or nationals already established in Albania at the time of introduction of a given measure, by comparison with Albanian companies or nationals. 
While devising and applying such measures, Albania shall grant preferential treatment 
wherever possible to Community companies an d nationals, and in no case treatment 
less favourable than that accorded to companies or nationals from any third country. Prior to the adoption of these measures, Albania shall consult the Stabilisation and 
Association Council and shall not put them into effect before a one-month period has 
elapsed following the notification to the Stabilisation and Association Council of the concrete measures to be introduced by Albania, except where the threat of irreparable damage requires the taking of urgent measures, in which case Albania shall consult 
the Stabilisation and Association Council immediately after their adoption. 
Upon the expiry of the fifth year following the date of entry into force of this 
Agreement, Albania may introduce or maintain such measures only with the 
authorisation of the Stabilisation and Association Council and under conditions 
determined by the latter." 
2.11  China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement 'CSFTA' (1 January 2009) 
Article 71 of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services) 
Safeguard Measures "The Parties note the multilateral negotiations pursuant to Article X of the GATS on 
the question of emergency safeguard measures based on the principle of non-
discrimination. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall 
conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments to this Agreement so as to incorporate the results of such multilateral negotiations." 
2.12  Free Trade Agreement between the Government of New Zealand and the 
Government of the People's Republic of China (1 October 2008) 
Article 121 of Chapter 9 (Trade in Services) 
Safeguard Measures 
"The Parties note the multilateral negotiations pursuant to Article X of GATS on the 
question of emergency safeguard measures based on the principle of non-discrimination. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall 
conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments to this 
Agreement so as to incorporate the results of such multilateral negotiations." 
2.13  Agreement between Japan and the Re public of Indonesia for an Economic 
Partnership (1 July 2008) 
Article 89 of Chapter 6 (Trade in Services) Emergency Safeguard Measures 
"1. The Parties shall take note of the multilateral negotiations on the question of 
emergency safeguard measures based on the principle of non-discrimination pursuant to Article X of the GATS. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments 
to this Agreement based on the results of such multilateral negotiations. 
2. In the event that the implementation  of this Agreement causes substantial 
adverse impact to a Party in a specific service sector prior to the conclusion of the 
multilateral negotiations referred to in paragraph 1, the Party may request 
consultations with the other Party for the purposes of taking appropriate measures to S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  address such adverse impact. The Parties shall take into account the circumstances of 
the particular case in such consultations." 
2.14  Agreement between the Government of Pakistan and the Government of Malaysia 
for a Closer Economic Partnership (1 January 2008) 
Article 81 of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services) 
Emergency Safeguard Measures "1. The Parties shall initiate discussions within a year from the entry into force of 
this Agreement to develop mutually acceptable guidelines and procedures for the 
application of emergency safeguard measures. These guidelines and procedures shall be annexed to and shall form part of this Agreement. 
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, if a Party deems to 
be affected by the negative impact caused by its specific commitments as set out in 
Annex 5, the Party may request to hold consultations with the other Party and the other Party shall respond [to] such request in good faith. 
3. In holding the consultations referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the Parties 
shall endeavour to reach a mutually acceptable solution within a reasonable time." 
2.15  Agreement between Japan and the Ki ngdom of Thailand for an Economic 
Partnership (1 November 2007) 
Article 84 of Chapter 7 (Trade in Services) Emergency Safeguard Measures  "The Parties shall enter into consultations with a view to starting negotiations on 
emergency safeguard measures no later than  6 months after the date of entry into 
force of this Agreement. The results of such negotiations, if any, shall be incorporated into this Chapter in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 171." 
2.16  Agreement on Trade in Services of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive 
Economic Co-Operation between the Associa tion of Southeast Asian Nations and the 
People's Republic of China (1 July 2007) 
Article 9 
Safeguards "1. The Parties note the multilateral negotiations pursuant to Article X of the GATS 
on the question of emergency safeguard measures based on the principle of non-
discrimination. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall 
conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments to this Agreement so as to incorporate the results of such multilateral negotiations.  
2. In the event that the implementation  of this Agreement causes substantial 
adverse impact to a service sector of a Party before the conclusion of the multilateral negotiations referred to in paragraph 1 of th is Article, the affected Party may request 
for consultations with the other Party for the purposes of discussing any measure with 
respect to the affected service sector. Any measure taken pursuant to this paragraph shall be mutually agreed by the Parties concerned. The Parties concerned shall take into account the circumstances of the particular case and give sympathetic 
consideration to the Party seeking to take a measure." S/WPGR/W/64 
 
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  2.17  Enlargement of the European Union to 27 Member States (1 January 2007) −  
Act concerning the conditions of accession of  the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania and 
the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded7 
Part Four (Temporary provisions ), Title IV (Other provisions) 
Article 36 
"1. If, until the end of a period of up to three years after accession, difficulties arise 
which are serious and liable to persist in any sector of the economy or which could 
bring about serious deterioration in the economic situation of a given area, Bulgaria or 
Romania may apply for authorization to take protective measures in order to rectify the situation and adjust the sector concerne d to the economy of the internal market. 
In the same circumstances, any present Member State may apply for authorization to 
take protective measures with regard to Bulgaria, Romania, or both those States. 
2. Upon request by the State concerned, the Commission shall, by emergency 
procedure, determine the protective measures which it considers necessary, 
specifying the conditions and modalities under which they are to be put into effect. 
In the event of serious economic difficultie s and at the express request of the Member 
State concerned, the Commission shall act within five working days of the receipt of 
the request accompanied by the relevant ba ckground information. The measures thus 
decided on shall be applicable forthwith, shall take account of the interest of all parties concerned and shall not entail frontier controls. 
3. The measures authorized under paragraph 2 may involve derogations from the 
rules of the EC Treaty and this Act to su ch an extent and for such periods as are 
strictly necessary in order to attain the objectives referred to in paragraph 1. Priority shall be given to such measures as will le ast disturb the functioning of the internal 
market." 
Article 37 "If Bulgaria or Romania has failed to implement commitments undertaken in the 
context of the accession negotiations, causing a serious breach of the functioning of 
the internal market, including any commitments in all sectoral policies which concern economic activities with cross-border effect , or an imminent risk of such breach the 
Commission may, until the end of a period of up to three years after accession, upon 
motivated request of a Member State or on its own initiative, take appropriate 
measures. 
Measures shall be proportional and priority shall be given to measures which least 
disturb the functioning of the internal market and, where appropriate, to the 
application of the existing sectoral safeguard mechanisms. Such safeguard measures shall not be invoked as a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction 
on trade between Member States. The safeguard clause may be invoked even before 
accession on the basis of the monitoring findings and the measures adopted shall enter into force as of the first day of accession unless they provide for a later date.  The measures shall be maintained no longer than strictly necessary and, in any case, 
shall be lifted when the relevant commitment is implemented. They may however be 
applied beyond the period specified in the first paragraph as long as the relevant commitments have not been fulfilled. In response to progress made by the new 
Member State concerned in fulfilling its commitments, the Commission may adapt the 
measures as appropriate. The Commission shall inform the Council in good time 
                                               
7 In relation to the list referred to in Article 23 of the Act of Accession, Annex VI and VII also contain 
specific time bound transitional meas ures for Bulgaria and Romania pertaini ng to the freedom of movement of 
persons to provide services. S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 12 - 
 
  before revoking the safeguard measures, and it shall take duly into account any 
observations of the Council in this respect." 
2.18  Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of Malaysia for 
an Economic Partnership (13 July 2006) 
Article 106 of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services) 
Emergency Safeguard Measures "1. The Countries shall initiate discussions within one year from the entry into force 
of this Agreement to develop mutually acce ptable guidelines and procedures for the 
application of emergency safeguard measures within five years of the entry into force of this Agreement. 
2. (a) Notwithstanding the provision of pa ragraph 1 of this Article, if a Country 
deems itself to be affected by the negative impact caused by its specific commitments 
in Annex 6, the Country may request to hold a consultation with the other Country to deal with such situation and the other Country shall respond to the request in good 
faith. 
 (b) In the consultation, the Countries shall endeavour to reach a mutually 
acceptable solution within a reasonable time." 
2.19  Singapore-Jordan Free Trade Agreement 'SJFTA' (22 August 2005) 
Article 4.4 paragraph 4 of Chapter 4 (Trade in Services)  
Incorporation of Provisions from the GATS "4. The Parties shall review the treatment of safeguard measures, subsidies and 
domestic regulation in the context of developments at the WTO including the results of 
the negotiations on disciplines on domestic regulation measures pursuant to Article VI:4 of the GATS. Pursuant to such developments, the Parties shall enter into 
consultations to consider any amendment to this Agreement as appropriate." 
2.20  Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of India 
and the Republic of Singapore (1 August 2005) 
Article 7.14 of Chapter 7 (Trade in Services) 
Safeguard measures "1. Neither Party shall take safeguard action against services and service suppliers 
of the other Party from the date of entry into force of this Agreement. Neither Party 
shall initiate or continue any safeguard investigations in respect of services and 
service suppliers of the other Party. 
2. The Parties shall review the issue of safeguard measures in the context of 
developments in international fora of which both parties are members." S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 13 - 
 
  2.21  Australia-Thailand Free Trad e Agreement (1 January 2005) 
Chapter 8 (Trade in Services), Part V (Progressive Liberalisation and 
Development of Rules)  
Article 815 
References to GATS 
"All references to GATS in this Chapter are to  GATS in effect on the date of entry into 
force of this Agreement. If, after that date, a Party alters its schedule of specific 
commitments annexed to GATS, GATS is amended or the results of the negotiations 
provided for in GATS Articles VI (4), X (1),  XIII (2) or XV (1) enter into force, this 
Chapter shall be amended, as appropriat e, by agreement between the Parties." 
Side letter on services 
"[…] Thailand and Australia shall enter into negotiations with a view to incorporating 
into Chapter 8 a provision on emergency safeguard measures,  taking into account 
developments in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations to which they are party 
and the impact on competition in their respective markets that may result from 
enhancing their commitments in this Agreement; […]." 
2.22  Enlargement of the European Union to 25 Member States (1 May 2004) −  
Act concerning the conditions of accession  of the Czech Republic, the Republic of 
Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta,  the Republic of Poland, the Republic of 
Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the 
European Union is founded
8 
Part Four (Temporary provisio ns), Title II (Other provisions) 
Article 37 
"1. If, until the end of a period of up to three years after accession, difficulties arise 
which are serious and liable to persist in any sector of the economy or which could bring about serious deterioration in the economic situation of a given area, a new 
Member State may apply for authorization to take protective measures in order to 
rectify the situation and adjust the sector concerned to the economy of the common market.  
In the same circumstances, any present Member State may apply for authorization to 
take protective measures with regard to one or more of the new Member States.  
2. Upon request by the State concerned, the Commission shall, by emergency 
procedure, determine the protective measures which it considers necessary, 
specifying the conditions and modalities in which they are to be put into effect.  
In the event of serious economic difficultie s and at the express request of the Member 
State concerned, the Commission shall act within five working days of the receipt of 
the request accompanied by the relevant ba ckground information. The measures thus 
decided on shall be applicable forthwith, shall take account of the interests of all parties concerned and shall not entail frontier controls. 
3. The measures authorized under paragraph 2 may involve derogations from the 
rules of the EC Treaty and from this Act to such an extent and for such periods as are 
strictly necessary in order to attain the objectives referred to in paragraph 1. Priority 
                                               
8 In relation to the list referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession, Annexes V to XIV also contain 
specific time-bound transitional measures for each of  the new Member States pertaining to the freedom of 
movement of persons to provide services.  S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 14 - 
 
  shall be given to such measures as will least disturb the functioning of the common 
market." 
Article 38 "If a new Member State has failed to implement commitments undertaken in the 
context of the accession negotiations, causing a serious breach of the functioning of 
the internal market, including any commitments in all sectoral policies which concern economic activities with cross-border effect , or an imminent risk of such breach the 
Commission may, until the end of a period of up to three years after the date of entry 
into force of this Act, upon motivated request of a Member State or on its own initiative, take appropriate measures.  
Measures shall be proportional and priority  shall be given to measures, which disturb 
least the functioning of the internal market and, where appropriate, to the application 
of the existing sectoral safeguard mechanisms.  Such safeguard measures shall not be invoked as a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade 
between Member States. The safeguard clause may be invoked even before accession 
on the basis of the monitoring findings and enter into force as of the date of accession. The measures shall be maintained no longer than strictly necessary, and, in 
any case, will be lifted when the relevant commitment is implemented. They may 
however be applied beyond the period specified in the first paragraph as long as the relevant commitments have not been fulfill ed. In response to progress made by the 
new Member State concerned in fulfilling its commitments, the Commission may adapt 
the measures as appropriate. The Commissio n will inform the Council in good time 
before revoking safeguard measures, and it will take duly into account any observations of the Council in this respect." 
2.23  Stabilisation and Association Agreemen t between the Europe an Communities and 
their Member States, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republ ic of Macedonia, of 
the other part (1 April 2004) 
Title V (Movement of Workers, Establis hment, Supply of Services, Capital) 
Chapter II (Establishment) Article 54 "During the first four years following the date of entry into force of this Agreement, 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia may introduce measures which derogate 
from the provisions of this Chapter as regards the establishment of Community companies and nationals of certain industries which: 
– are undergoing restructuring, or are facing serious difficulties, particularly where 
these entail serious social problems in the fo rmer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or 
– face the elimination or a drastic reduction of the total market share held by the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia companies or nationals in a given sector or 
industry in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or 
– are newly emerging industries in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Such measures: 
(i) shall cease to apply at the latest two years after the end of the first stage of the 
transitional period; 
(ii) shall be reasonable and necessary in order to remedy the situation; and 
(iii) shall not introduce discrimination concerning the activities of Community 
companies or nationals already established in the former Yugoslav Republic of S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 15 - 
 
  Macedonia at the time of introduction of a given measure, by comparison with 
companies or nationals from the former  Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 
While devising and applying such measures, the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia shall grant preferential treatment wherever possible to Community 
companies and nationals, and in no case treatment less favourable than that accorded 
to companies or nationals from any third country. Prior to the adoption of these measures, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia shall consult the Stabilisation 
and Association Council and shall not put them into effect before a one month period 
has elapsed following the notification to the Stabilisation and Association Council of the concrete measures to be introduced by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, except where the threat of irreparable damage requires the taking of 
urgent measures, in which case the former  Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia shall 
consult the Stabilisation and Association Council immediately after their adoption. 
Upon the expiry of the fourth year follow ing the date of entry into force of this 
Agreement, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia may introduce or maintain 
such measures only with the authorization of the Stabilisation and Association Council and under conditions determined by the latter." 
2.24  Mainland and Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (17 October 2003) 
Annex 4 (Specific Commitments on Li beralization of Trade in Services) 
Article 8 "8. In the event that the implementation of this Annex causes substantial impact on 
the trade and relevant sectors of either side, the two sides will conduct consultations 
on the relevant provisions of this Annex at the request of either side." 
2.25  Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement 'SAFTA' (28 July 2003) 
Article 13 of Chapter 7 (Trade in Services) 
Safeguard Measures "Neither Party shall take safeguard action against services and service suppliers of the 
other Party from the date of entry into force of this Agreement. Neither Party shall 
initiate or continue any safeguard investigations in respect of services and service suppliers of the other Party." 
2.26  Mainland and Hong Kong Close r Economic Partnership Arrangement 
(29 June 2003) 
Annex 4 (Specific Commitments on Li beralization of Trade in Services) 
Article 8 
"8. In the event that the implementation of this Annex causes substantial impact on 
the trade and relevant sectors of either side, the two sides will conduct consultations on the relevant provisions of this Annex at the request of either side." S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 16 - 
 
  2.27  Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas estab lishing the Caribbean Community including 
the Caricom Single Market and Economy (4 July 2002) 
Chapter Three (Establishment, Serv ices, Capital, and Movement of 
Community Nationals) 
Article 47 
Restrictions to Resolve Di fficulties or Hardships Aris ing from the Exercise of 
Rights 
"1. Where the exercise of rights granted under this Chapter creates serious 
difficulties in any sector of the economy of a Member State or occasions economic hardships in a region of the Community, a Member State adversely affected thereby may, subject to the provisions of this Article,  apply such restrictions on the exercise of 
the rights as it considers appropriate in order to resolve the difficulties or alleviate the 
hardships.  
2. Where a Member State:  
(a) intends to apply restrictions in accordance with paragraph 1 of this 
Article, it shall, prior to applying those restrictions, notify the competent Organ of that intention and the nature of the restrictions;  
(b) is unable to comply with sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, it shall, 
upon applying the restrictions in accordance with paragraph 1, immediately notify the competent Organ of the application and nature of the restrictions.  
3. The Member State shall, at the time of application of the restrictions mentioned 
in paragraph 1, submit to COTED or COFAP, as the case may require, a programme 
setting out the measures to be taken by that Member State to resolve the difficulties or to alleviate the hardships.  
4. The competent Organ shall give its earliest consideration to the programme, 
and:  
(a) make a determination in respect of the appropriateness of the restrictions 
and whether they shall be continued; and  
(b) where it decides that the restrictions shall be continued, determine: 
  (i) the adequacy of the programme; and   (ii) the period for which the restrictions should continue.  
The competent Organ, in making a determination under sub-paragraph (b) of this 
paragraph, may impose such conditions as it considers necessary.  
5. Restrictions applied by a Member State pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article 
shall be confined to those necessary:  
(a) to resolve the difficulties in the affected sectors;  (b) to alleviate economic hardships in a particular region.  
6. In applying restrictions mentioned in paragraph 5, Member States shall: 
(a) Minimize damage to the commercial or economic interests of any other 
Member State; or  S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 17 - 
 
  (b) prevent the unreasonable exercise of  rights granted under this Chapter, 
the exclusion of which could impa ir the development of the CSME. 
7. The Member States, in applying restrictions pursuant to paragraph 1 of this 
Article, shall not discriminate and: 
(a) shall progressively relax them as relevant conditions improve;  
(b) may maintain them only to the extent that conditions mentioned in 
paragraph 1 of this Article continue to justify their application.  
8. If COTED or COFAP, as the case may require, is not satisfied that Member 
States applying restrictions are acting in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 6 of this Article, it may recommend to the Member States adversely affected thereby alternative arrangements to the same end." 
ARTICLE 48  
Waiver of Obligations to Grant Rights  
"1. Notwithstanding any provision in this Chapter, a Member State may apply to the 
Community Council for a waiver of the re quirement to grant any of the rights 
mentioned in paragraph 1 of Article 30 in resp ect of any industry, sector or enterprise. 
2. An application for a waiver within the meaning of paragraph 1 of this Article shall: 
(a) be made prior to the establishment of the relevant programme for the 
removal of restrictions on the rights mentioned in paragraph 1; 
(b) identify the rights in respect of which the waiver is required; (c) set out the circumstances justifying the grant of the waiver; and 
(d) indicate the period for which the waiver is required. 
3. The Community Council may require the applicant to furnish such additional 
information as the Council may specify. 
4. Where the Community Council is satisfied that the waiver should be granted, it 
shall grant a waiver for a period not exceeding five years, subject to such terms and conditions as the Community Council may determine.  
5. A Member State which has been granted a waiver within the meaning of 
paragraph 1 of this Article: 
(a) shall not, while the waiver is in force, be entitled to espouse a claim on 
behalf of its nationals against another Member State in respect of the rights for 
which the waiver was granted; 
(b) shall: 
(i) at the termination of the period of the waiver, remove the restrictions 
and notify the Community Council; or 
(ii) where the Member State removes the restrictions before the end of 
the period of the waiver; notify the Community Council accordingly." S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 18 - 
 
  2.28  Convention establishing the Eu ropean Free Trade Association 'EFTA' − 
Consolidated version, last amended on 1 July 2013 (1 June 2002) 
Chapter XIV: Exceptions and Safeguards Safeguard Measures 
Article 40 
"1. If serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties of a sectorial or 
regional nature liable to persist are arising, a Member State may unilaterally take 
appropriate measures under the conditions and procedures set out in Article 41. 
2. Such safeguard measures shall be restricted with regard to their scope and 
duration to what is strictly necessary in order to remedy the situation. Priority shall be given to such measures as will least disturb the functioning of this Convention. 
3. The safeguard measures shall apply with regard to all Member States. 
4. This Article is without prejudice to the application of specific safeguard 
provisions set out in the Annexes to this Convention or of special safeguard measures 
in accordance with Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture." 
Article 41 "1. A Member State which is considering taking safeguard measures under 
Article 40, shall, without delay, notify the other Member States through the Council 
and shall provide all relevant information. 
2. The Member States shall immediately enter into consultations in the Council 
with a view to finding a commonly acceptable solution. 
3. The Member State concerned may not take safeguard measures until one 
month has elapsed after the date of notification under paragraph 1, unless the consultation procedure under paragraph 2 has been concluded before the expiration of 
the stated time limit. When exceptional circumstances requiring immediate action 
exclude prior examination, the Member State concerned may apply forthwith the 
protective measures strictly necessary to remedy the situation. 
4. The Member State concerned shall, without delay, notify the measures taken to 
the Council and shall provide all relevant information. 
5. The safeguard measures taken shall be the subject of consultations in the 
Council every three months from the date of their adoption with a view to their 
abolition before the date of expiry envisaged, or to the limitation of their scope of 
application. 
Each Member State may at any time request the Council to review such measures." 
2.29  Free Trade Agreement between the Dominican Republic and Central America  
(4 October 2001) (unofficial translation from Spanish)  
Chapter X (Trade in Services) 
Article 10.20 (Future Work) 
"1. The Committee on Trade in Services shall determine the procedures for providing 
for necessary disciplines relating to:  
a. Emergency safeguard measures; and […]." S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 19 - 
 
  2.30  Enlargement of the European Union to 15 Member States (1 January 1995) −  
Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of 
Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded 
TITLE VII OTHER PROVISIONS 
Article 152 "1. If, before 1 January 1996, difficulties ar ise which are serious and liable to persist 
in any sector of the economy or which could bring about serious deterioration in the 
economic situation of a given area, a new Member State may apply for authorization to take protective measures in order to rectify the situation and adjust the sector concerned to the economy of the common market. 
In the same circumstances, any present Member State may apply for authorization to 
take protective measures with regard to  one or more of the new Member States. 
2. Upon request by the State concerned, the Commission shall, by emergency 
procedure, determine the protective measures which it considers necessary, 
specifying the conditions and modalities in which they are to be put into effect. 
In the event of serious economic difficultie s and at the express request of the Member 
State concerned, the Commission shall act within five working days of the receipt of 
the request accompanied by the relevant ba ckground information. The measures thus 
decided on shall be applicable forthwith, shall take account of the interest of all parties concerned and shall not entail frontier controls. 
3. The measures authorized under paragraph 2 may involve derogations from the 
rules of the EC Treaty, the ECSC Treaty and this Act to such an extent and for such periods as are strictly necessary in order to attain the objectives referred to in 
paragraph 1. Priority shall be given to such measures as will least disturb the 
functioning of the common market." 
2.31  The Agreement on the European Economic Area 'EEA' − Consolidated version, last 
updated on 12 April 2014 (1 January 1994) 
PART VII INSTITUT IONAL PROVISIONS 
Chapter 4 Safeguard Measures Article 112 
"1.  If serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties of a sectorial or 
regional nature liable to persist are arising, a Contracting Party may unilaterally take appropriate measures under the conditions and procedures laid down in Article 113. 
2.  Such safeguard measures shall be restricted with regard to their scope and 
duration to what is strictly necessary in order to remedy the situation. Priority shall be given to such measures as will least disturb the functioning of this Agreement. 
3.  The safeguard measures shall apply with regard to all Contracting Parties." 
Article 113 "1. A Contracting Party which is considering taking safeguard measures under 
Article 112 shall, without delay, notify the other Contracting Parties through the EEA 
Joint Committee and shall provide all relevant information. S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 20 - 
 
  2.  The Contracting Parties shall immediately enter into consultations in the EEA 
Joint Committee with a view to finding a commonly acceptable solution. 
3.  The Contracting Party concerned may not take safeguard measures until one 
month has elapsed after the date of notification under paragraph 1, unless the 
consultation procedure under paragraph 2 has been concluded before the expiration of 
the stated time limit. When exceptional circumstances requiring immediate action exclude prior examination, the Contracting Party concerned may apply forthwith the 
protective measures strictly necessary to remedy the situation. 
 For the Community, the safeguard measures shall be taken by the EC 
Commission. 
4.  The Contracting Party concerned shall, without delay, notify the measures taken 
to the EEA Joint Committee and shall provide all relevant information. 
5.  The safeguard measures taken shall be  the subject of consultations in the EEA 
Joint Committee every three months from the date of their adoption with a view to 
their abolition before the date of expiry en visaged, or to the limitation of their scope 
of application. 
 Each Contracting Party may at any time request the EEA Joint Committee to 
review such measures." 
Article 114 "1.  If a safeguard measure taken by a Contracting Party creates an imbalance 
between the rights and obligations under this Agreement, any other Contracting Party 
may towards that Contracting Party take such proportionate rebalancing measures as 
are strictly necessary to remedy the imbalance. Priority shall be given to such measures as will least disturb the functioning of the EEA. 
2.  The procedure under Article 113 shall apply." 
2.32  The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1 January 1994)  
Annex 1413.6 – Section B - Payments System Protection 
"1. If the sum of the authorized capital of foreign commercial bank affiliates (as 
s u c h  t e r m  i s  d e f i n e d  i n  t h e  S c h e d u l e  o f  M e x i c o  t o  A n n e x  V I I ) ,  m e a s u r e d  a s  a  percentage of the aggregate capital of all commercial banks in Mexico, reaches 
25 percent, Mexico may request consultations with the other Parties on the potential 
adverse effects arising from the presence of commercial banks of the other Parties in 
the Mexican market and the possible need for remedial action, including further temporary limitations on market participation. The consultations shall be completed 
expeditiously. 
2. In considering the potential adverse effects, the Parties shall take into account: 
(a) the threat that the Mexican payments system may be controlled by non-
Mexican persons;  
(b) the effects foreign commercial banks established in Mexico may have on 
Mexico's ability to conduct monetary and exchange-rate policy effectively; and  
(c) the adequacy of this Chapter in protecting the Mexican payments system. 
3. If no consensus is reached on the matte rs referred to in paragraph 1, any Party 
may request the establishment of an arbitral panel under Article 1414 or Article 2008 (Request for an Arbitral Panel). The panel proceedings shall be conducted in 
accordance with the Model Rules of Procedure established under Article 2012 (Rules of S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 21 - 
 
  Procedure). The Panel shall present its determination within 60 days after the last 
panellist is selected or such other period as the Parties to the proceeding may agree. Article 2018 (Implementation of Final Report) and 2019 (Non-Implementation -- Suspension of Benefits) shall not apply in such proceedings." 
3  CONCLUDING REMARKS 
3.1.  Out of the 122 economic integration agreements notified under Article V paragraph 7(a) of 
GATS, 29 contain either a reference to the negotiating agenda in Article X of the GATS or some 
safeguard-type, or safeguard-related, provision (see Annexes I and II).
9 In some instances, the 
parties to the economic integration agreement merely "note" the ongoing multilateral negotiations under Article X of the GATS in conjunction with  a commitment to discuss appropriate amendments 
so as to incorporate the results of the multilateral negotiations into their bilateral or regional 
agreement (" rendez-vous  clause"). Some safeguard-type provisions go a step further by including 
a consultation mechanism in case the implementation of the agreement causes a "negative impact", or "substantial adverse impact", to a (specific) service sector of a party before the 
conclusion of the multilateral negotiations pursuant to Article X of the GATS. In most of these 
cases, the affected party may request consultations with the other party(ies) to discuss possible measures to address such adverse impact. Any such measure shall normally be mutually agreed 
by the parties concerned.   
3.2.  The safeguard-type provisions included in  the Agreement on the European Economic Area 
(EEA) or the Convention establishing the European  Free Trade Association (EFTA) are different in 
that they are horizontal in nature (i.e., not specific to trade in services). The sui generis  provisions 
contained in some of the more recent Treaties of accession to the EU reviewed in this Note are 
also, as such, not specific to trade in services and can be invoked only during a limited period of time after accession.  
3.3.  Out of the 122 agreements considered in this  Note, three contain an outright prohibition for 
the parties to take safeguard action against services or service suppliers of the other party from the date of entry into force of the agreement.  In two of these cases, the prohibition is 
accompanied by a review clause whereby the parties commit themselves to review the issue in the 
context of developments in international fora of which both are a party. 
3.4.  Finally, over the period under review, a couple of economic integration agreements featuring 
a safeguard-type provision entered into force as early as in 1994-95. However, most of the 
agreements featuring a safeguard-type, or safeguard-related, provision were concluded in the 
years 2007-2010. 
 
_______________ 
  
                                               
9 Alternatively, 119 agreements if counting only  those currently in force. S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 22 - 
 
   
ANNEX I 
LIST OF RTAS NOTIFIED UNDER GATS ARTICLE V  
IN FORCE AS OF 31 JULY 2014,  
IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THEIR ENTRY INTO FORCE1 
Note: 
−  No safeguard-type or safeguard-relate d provision included in the agreement. 
* Date of entry into force in accordance with the Parties' respective internal procedures (RTA notified, but 
not yet in force).  
n.a. Not applicable since Servic es Chapter not yet in force. 
 
 
RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification  
(Services) Date of 
entry into 
force 
(Services) Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
1 EU - Georgia Goods & Services 02-Jul-14 * n.a. 
2 EU - Rep. of Moldova Goods & Services 30-Jun-14 * n.a. 
3 EU - Ukraine Goods & Services 01-Jul-14 * n.a. 
4 Switzerland - China Goods & Services 30-Jun-14 01-Jul-14 − 
5 Singapore - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 22-Apr-14 19-Apr-14 − 
6 New Zealand - Chinese 
Taipei Goods & Services 25-Nov-13 01-Dec-13 − 
7 EU - Serbia Goods & Services 20-Dec-13 01-Sep-13 − 
8 EU - Central America Goods & Services 26-Feb-13 01-Aug-13 − 
9 Costa Rica - Singapore Goods & Services 16-Sep-13 01-Jul-13 − 
10 EU (28) Enlargement Goods & Services 25-Apr-13 01-Jul-13 YES, including 
for movement 
of persons 
(Articles 37 and 
38;  
Annex V, 
Section 2) 
11 Costa Rica - Peru Goods & Services 05-Jun-13 01-Jun-13 − 
12 Canada - Panama Goods & Services 10-Apr-13 01-Apr-13 − 
13 EU - Colombia and Peru Goods & Services 26-Feb-13 01-Mar-13 − 
14 Malaysia - Australia Goods & Services 13-May-13 01-Jan-13 YES 
(Article 8.13) 
15 Ukraine - Montenegro Goods & Services 25-Apr-13 01-Jan-13 − 
16 US - Panama Goods & Services 29-Oct-12 31-Oct-12 − 
17 Chile - Nicaragua 
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 14-Jun-13 19-Oct-12 − 
18 EFTA - Hong Kong, China Goods & Services 27-Sep-12 01-Oct-12 − 
19 Mexico - Central America Goods & Services 20-Jan-14 01-Sep-12 − 
20 EFTA - Ukraine Goods & Services 18-Jun-12 01-Jun-12 − 
21 US - Colombia Goods & Services 08-May-12 15-May-12 − 
22 Panama - Peru Goods & Services 23-Apr-12 01-May-12 − 
                                               
1 The RTAs that are no longer in force have been ex cluded from the list. Text of the agreements listed 
and other related documents can be foun d on the WTO Secretariat RTA Database: 
http://rtais.wto.org/UI/PublicMaintainRTAHome.aspx .   S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 23 - 
 
   
RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification  
(Services) Date of 
entry into 
force 
(Services) Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
23 Korea, Republic of - US Goods & Services 15-Mar-12 15-Mar-12 − 
24 Japan - Peru Goods & Services 24-Feb-12 01-Mar-12 − 
25 Peru - Mexico Goods & Services 22-Feb-12 01-Feb-12 − 
26 Canada - Colombia Goods & Services 07-Oct-11 15-Aug-11 − 
27 China - Costa Rica Goods & Services 27-Feb-12 01-Aug-11 − 
28 India - Japan Goods & Services 14-Sep-11 01-Aug-11 − 
29 Peru - Korea, Republic of Goods & Services 09-Aug-11 01-Aug-11 − 
30 EFTA - Colombia Goods & Services 14-Sep-11 01-Jul-11 − 
31 EU - Korea, Republic of Goods & Services 07-Jul-11 01-Jul-11 − 
32 India - Malaysia Goods & Services 06-Sep-11 01-Jul-11 YES 
(Article 8.13) 
33 Hong Kong, China - New 
Zealand Goods & Services 03-Jan-11 01-Jan-11 − 
34 Chile - China Goods & Services 18-Nov-10 01-Aug-10 − 
35 New Zealand - Malaysia Goods & Services 07-Feb-12 01-Aug-10 YES 
(Article 8.12) 
36 East African Community 
(EAC) Goods & Services 01-Aug-12 01-Jul-10 − 
37 EU - Montenegro Goods & Services 18-Jun-10 01-May-10 − 
38 Chile - Guatemala 
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 30-Mar-12 23-Mar-10 − 
39 Peru - China Goods & Services 03-Mar-10 01-Mar-10 − 
40 ASEAN - Australia - New 
Zealand Goods & Services 08-Apr-10 01-Jan-10 YES 
(Chapter 8, 
Article 19) 
41 Korea, Republic of - India Goods & Services 01-Jul-10 01-Jan-10 Prohibition of 
safeguard 
action + Review 
clause 
(Article 6.11) 
42 Panama - Nicaragua 
(Panama - Central America) Goods & Services 25-Feb-13 21-Nov-09 − 
43 Colombia - Northern Triangle 
(El Salvador, Guatemala, 
Honduras) Goods & Services 31-Aug-12 12-Nov-09 − 
44 Pakistan - China Goods & Services 20-May-10 10-Oct-09 YES 
(Article 9) 
45 Japan - Viet Nam Goods & Services 01-Oct-09 01-Oct-09 YES  
Consultations 
(Article 73) 
46 Japan - Switzerland Goods & Services 01-Sep-09 01-Sep-09 − 
47 Canada - Peru Goods & Services 31-Jul-09 01-Aug-09 − 
48 Peru - Singapore Goods & Services 30-Jul-09 01-Aug-09 − 
49 Panama - Guatemala 
(Panama - Central America) Goods & Services 22-Apr-13 20-Jun-09 − 
50 Chile - Colombia Goods & Services 14-Aug-09 08-May-09 − S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 24 - 
 
   
RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification  
(Services) Date of 
entry into 
force 
(Services) Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
51 ASEAN - Korea, Republic of Goods & Services 08-Jul-10 01-May-09 YES  
(Article 10) 
52 EU - Albania Goods & Services 07-Oct-09 01-Apr-09 YES  
(Title V,  
Chapter II 
"Establishment", 
Article 56) 
53 Australia - Chile Goods & Services 03-Mar-09 06-Mar-09 − 
54 Peru - Chile Goods & Services 29-Nov-11 01-Mar-09 − 
55 US - Peru Goods & Services 03-Feb-09 01-Feb-09 − 
56 Panama - Honduras 
(Panama - Central America ) Goods & Services 16-Dec-09 09-Jan-09 − 
57 China - Singapore Goods & Services 02-Mar-09 01-Jan-09 YES 
(Article 71) 
58 US - Oman Goods & Services 30-Jan-09 01-Jan-09 − 
59 Japan - Philippines Goods & Services 11-Dec-08 11-Dec-08 − 
60 Panama - Costa Rica 
(Panama - Central America) Goods & Services 07-Apr-09 23-Nov-08 − 
61 EU - CARIFORUM States EPA Goods & Services 16-Oct-08 01-Nov-08 − 
62 China - New Zealand Goods & Services 21-Apr-09 01-Oct-08 YES 
(Article 121) 
63 Brunei Darussalam - Japan Goods & Services 31-Jul-08 31-Jul-08 − 
64 Chile - Honduras 
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 28-Nov-11 19-Jul-08 − 
65 Japan - Indonesia Goods & Services 27-Jun-08 01-Jul-08 YES 
(Article 89) 
66 Panama - Chile Goods & Services 17-Apr-08 07-Mar-08 − 
67 El Salvador- Honduras - 
Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 06-Apr-10 01-Mar-08 − 
68 Nicaragua - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 09-Jul-09 01-Jan-08 − 
69 Pakistan - Malaysia Goods & Services 19-Feb-08 01-Jan-08 YES 
(Article 81) 
70 Japan - Thailand Goods & Services 25-Oct-07 01-Nov-07 YES 
(Article 84) 
71 Chile - Japan Goods & Services 24-Aug-07 03-Sep-07 − 
72 ASEAN - China Goods & Services 26-Jun-08 01-Jul-07 YES 
(Article 9) 
73 EC (27) Enlargement Goods & Services 26-Jun-07 01-Jan-07 YES 
(Articles 36 and 
37)2 
74 Iceland - Faroe Islands Goods & Services 10-Jul-08 01-Nov-06 − 
75 EFTA - Korea, Republic of Goods & Services 23-Aug-06 01-Sep-06 − 
76 US - Bahrain Goods & Services 08-Sep-06 01-Aug-06 − 
                                               
2 In relation to the list referred to in Article 23 of  the Act of Accession, Annex VI and VII also contain 
specific time bound transiti onal measures for Bulgaria and Romania pe rtaining to the freedom of movement of 
persons to provide services. S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 25 - 
 
   
RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification  
(Services) Date of 
entry into 
force 
(Services) Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
77 Panama - Singapore Goods & Services 04-Apr-07 24-Jul-06 − 
78 Japan - Malaysia Goods & Services 12-Jul-06 13-Jul-06 YES 
(Article 106) 
79 Guatemala - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 11-Jul-11 01-Jul-06 − 
80 Trans-Pacific Strategic 
Economic Partnership 
Brunei Darussalam – Chile - 
New Zealand - Singapore Goods & Services 18-May-07 28-May-06 − 
81 Korea, Republic of - 
Singapore Goods & Services 21-Feb-06 02-Mar-06 − 
82 Dominican Republic - Central 
America - United States Free 
Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)  Goods & Services 17-Mar-06 01-Mar-06 − 
83 US - Morocco Goods & Services 30-Dec-05 01-Jan-06 − 
84 Southern Common Market 
(MERCOSUR) Goods & Services 05-Dec-06 07-Dec-05 − 
85 Jordan - Singapore Goods & Services 07-Jul-06 22-Aug-05 YES 
(Article 4.4 
para. 4) 
86 India - Singapore Goods & Services 03-May-07 01-Aug-05 Prohibition of 
safeguard 
action + Review 
clause 
(Article 7.14) 
87 Thailand - New Zealand Goods & Services 01-Dec-05 01-Jul-05 −3 
88 Japan - Mexico Goods & Services 31-Mar-05 01-Apr-05 − 
89 EU - Chile Goods & Services 28-Oct-05 01-Mar-05 − 
90 Thailand - Australia Goods & Services 27-Dec-04 01-Jan-05 Reference to 
GATS 
(Article 815 + 
Side letter on 
services) 
91 US - Australia Goods & Services 22-Dec-04 01-Jan-05 − 
92 EFTA - Chile Goods & Services 03-Dec-04 01-Dec-04 − 
93 Mexico - Uruguay Goods & Services 28-Jun-13 15-Jul-04 − 
94 EC (25) Enlargement Goods & Services 26-Apr-04 01-May-04 YES  
(Title II, Articles 
37 and 38)4 
95 EU - Former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia Goods & Services 02-Oct-09 01-Apr-04 YES  
(Title V,  
Chapter II 
"Establishment", 
Article 54) 
96 Korea, Republic of - Chile Goods & Services 08-Apr-04 01-Apr-04 − 
                                               
3 No full Agreement on Trade in Services concluded yet. Paragraph 2 of Article 8.1 ("Liberalization of 
Trade Services") stipulates that: " 2. For the purposes of Paragraph 1, th e Parties shall enter into negotiations 
on trade in services within three years from the date of  entry into force of this Agreement, with the aim of 
concluding an agreement to liberalize trade in serv ices between the two Parties as soon as possible. " 
4 In relation to the list referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession, Annexes V to XIV also contain 
specific time-bound transitional measures for each of  the new Member States pertaining to the freedom of 
movement of persons to provide services.  S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 26 - 
 
   
RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification  
(Services) Date of 
entry into 
force 
(Services) Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
97 Panama - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 28-Jul-09 01-Jan-04 − 
98 US - Chile Goods & Services 16-Dec-03 01-Jan-04 − 
99 US - Singapore Goods & Services 17-Dec-03 01-Jan-04 − 
100 China - Macao, China Goods & Services 27-Dec-03 17-Oct-03 YES 
(Annex 4, 
Article 8) 
101 Singapore - Australia Goods & Services 25-Sep-03 28-Jul-03 Prohibition of 
safeguard 
action  
(Article 13) 
102 China - Hong Kong, China Goods & Services 27-Dec-03 29-Jun-03 YES 
(Annex 4, 
Article 8) 
103 Panama - El Salvador 
(Panama - Central America) Goods & Services 24-Feb-05 11-Apr-03 − 
104 EFTA - Singapore Goods & Services 14-Jan-03 01-Jan-03 − 
105 Japan - Singapore Goods & Services 08-Nov-02 30-Nov-02 − 
106 Caribbean Community and 
Common Market (CARICOM) Goods & Services 19-Feb-03 04-Jul-02 YES  
(Articles 47 and 
48) 
107 Chile - El Salvador 
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 05-Feb-04 01-Jun-02 − 
108 European Free Trade 
Association (EFTA) Goods & Services 15-Jul-02 01-Jun-02 Horizontal 
Safeguard 
Measures  
(Chapter XIV, 
Articles 40 and 
41) 
109 Chile - Costa Rica 
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 16-Apr-02 15-Feb-02 − 
110 US - Jordan Goods & Services 15-Jan-02 17-Dec-01 − 
111 Dominican Republic - Central 
America Goods & Services 06-Jan-12 04-Oct-01 Simple mention 
under "Future 
Work" (Article 
10.20 para 1a) 
112 EFTA - Mexico Goods & Services 25-Jul-01 01-Jul-01 − 
113 New Zealand - Singapore Goods & Services 04-Sep-01 01-Jan-01 − 
114 EU - Mexico Goods & Services 21-Jun-02 01-Oct-00 − 
115 Chile - Mexico Goods & Services 27-Feb-01 01-Aug-99 − 
116 Canada - Chile Goods & Services 30-Jul-97 05-Jul-97 − 
117 Colombia - Mexico Goods & Services 13-Sep-10 01-Jan-95 − 
118 EC (15) Enlargement Goods & Services 22-Dec-94 01-Jan-95 YES  
(Title VII, 
Article 152) S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 27 - 
 
   
RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification  
(Services) Date of 
entry into 
force 
(Services) Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
119 European Economic Area 
(EEA) Services 13-Sep-96 01-Jan-94 Horizontal 
Safeguard 
Measures  
(Part VII, 
Chapter 4, 
Articles 112-
114) 
120 North American Free Trade 
Agreement (NAFTA) Goods & Services 01-Mar-95 01-Jan-94 YES 
(Annex 1413.6 
– Section B – 
Payments 
System) 
121 Australia - New Zealand 
(ANZCERTA) Goods & Services 22-Nov-95 01-Jan-89 − 
122 EC Treaty Goods & Services 10-Nov-95 01-Jan-58 − 
Source: WTO Secretariat, RTA Database.  
 
 
_______________ 
  S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 28 - 
 
   
ANNEX II 
LIST OF RTAS NOTIFIED UNDER GATS ARTICLE V  
IN FORCE AS OF 31 JULY 2014,  
IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER1 
Note: 
−  No safeguard-type or safeguard-relate d provision included in the agreement. 
* Date of entry into force in accordance with the Parties' respective internal procedures (RTA notified, but 
not yet in force).  
n.a. Not applicable since Servic es Chapter not yet in force. 
 
 RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification Date of entry 
into force Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
1 ASEAN - Australia - New 
Zealand Goods & Services 08-Apr-10 01-Jan-10 YES  
(Chapter 8, 
Article 19) 
2 ASEAN - China Goods & Services 21-Sep-05(G) 
26-Jun-08(S) 01-Jan-05(G) 
01-Jul-07(S) YES 
(Article 9) 
3 ASEAN - Korea, Republic of  Goods & Services 08-Jul-10 01-Jan-10(G) 
01-May-09(S) YES  
(Article 10) 
4 Australia - Chile Goods & Services 03-Mar-09 06-Mar-09 − 
5 Australia - New Zealand 
(ANZCERTA) Goods & Services 14-Apr-83(G) 
22-Nov-95(S) 01-Jan-83(G) 
01-Jan-89(S) − 
6 Brunei Darussalam - Japan Goods & Services 31-Jul-08 31-Jul-08 − 
7 Canada - Chile Goods & Services 30-Jul-97 05-Jul-97 − 
8 Canada - Colombia Goods & Services 07-Oct-11 15-Aug-11 − 
9 Canada - Panama Goods & Services 10-Apr-13 01-Apr-13 − 
10 Canada - Peru Goods & Services 31-Jul-09 01-Aug-09 − 
11 Caribbean Community and 
Common Market (CARICOM) Goods & Services 14-Oct-74(G) 
19-Feb-03(S) 01-Aug-73(G) 
04-Jul-02(S) YES 
(Articles 47 and 
48) 
12 Chile - China Goods & Services 20-Jun-07(G) 
18-Nov-10(S) 01-Oct-06(G) 
01-Aug-10(S) − 
13 Chile - Colombia Goods & Services 14-Aug-09 08-May-09 − 
14 Chile - Costa Rica 
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 16-Apr-02 15-Feb-02 − 
15 Chile - El Salvador  
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 29-Jan-04(G) 
05-Feb-04(S) 01-Jun-02 − 
16 Chile - Guatemala  
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 30-Mar-12 23-Mar-10 − 
17 Chile - Honduras  
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 28-Nov-11 19-Jul-08 − 
18 Chile - Japan Goods & Services 24-Aug-07 03-Sep-07 − 
19 Chile - Mexico Goods & Services 27-Feb-01 01-Aug-99 − 
                                               
1 The RTAs that are no longer in force have been ex cluded from the list. Text of the agreements listed 
and other related documents can be foun d on the WTO Secretariat RTA Database: 
http://rtais.wto.org/UI/PublicMaintainRTAHome.aspx .   S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 29 - 
 
   RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification Date of entry 
into force Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
20 Chile - Nicaragua  
(Chile - Central America) Goods & Services 14-Jun-13 19-Oct-12 − 
21 China - Costa Rica Goods & Services 27-Feb-12 01-Aug-11 − 
22 China - Hong Kong, China Goods & Services 27-Dec-03 29-Jun-03 YES 
(Annex 4, 
Article 8) 
23 China - Macao, China Goods & Services 27-Dec-03 17-Oct-03 YES 
(Annex 4, 
Article 8) 
24 China - New Zealand Goods & Services 21-Apr-09 01-Oct-08 YES  
(Article 121) 
25 China - Singapore Goods & Services 02-Mar-09 01-Jan-09 YES  
(Article 71) 
26 Colombia - Mexico Goods & Services 13-Sep-10 01-Jan-95 − 
27 Colombia - Northern Triangle  
(El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) Goods & Services 31-Aug-12 12-Nov-09 
− 
28 Costa Rica - Peru Goods & Services 05-Jun-13 01-Jun-13 − 
29 Costa Rica - Singapore Goods & Services 16-Sep-13 01-Jul-13 − 
30 Dominican Republic - Central 
America Goods & Services 06-Jan-12 04-Oct-01 Simple mention 
under "Future 
Work" 
(Article 10.20 
para 1a) 
31 Dominican Republic - Central 
America - United States Free 
Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) Goods & Services 17-Mar-06 01-Mar-06 − 
32 East African Community (EAC) Goods & Services 09-Oct-00(G) 
01-Aug-12(S) 07-Jul-00(G) 
01-Jul-10(S) − 
33 EC Treaty Goods & Services 24-Apr-57(G) 
10-Nov-95(S) 01-Jan-58 − 
34 EC (15) Enlargement Goods & Services 15-Dec-94(G) 
22-Dec-94(S) 01-Jan-95 YES 
(Title VII, Article 
152) 
35 EC (25) Enlargement Goods & Services 26-Apr-04 01-May-04 YES  
(Title II, Articles 
37 and 38)2 
36 EC (27) Enlargement Goods & Services 27-Sep-06(G) 
26-Jun-07(S) 01-Jan-07 YES 
(Articles 36 and 
37)3 
37 EU (28) Enlargement Goods & Services 25-Apr-13 01-Jul-13 YES, including 
for movement 
of persons 
(Articles 37 and 
38; and  
Annex V, 
Section 2) 
38 EFTA - Chile Goods & Services 03-Dec-04 01-Dec-04 − 
39 EFTA - Colombia Goods & Services 14-Sep-11 01-Jul-11 − 
                                               
2 In relation to the list referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession, Annexes V to XIV also contain 
specific time-bound transitional measures for each of  the new Member States pertaining to the freedom of 
movement of persons to provide services.  
3 In relation to the list referred to in Article 23 of  the Act of Accession, Annex VI and VII also contain 
specific time bound transiti onal measures for Bulgaria and Romania pe rtaining to the freedom of movement of 
persons to provide services. S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 30 - 
 
   RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification Date of entry 
into force Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
40 EFTA - Hong Kong, China Goods & Services 27-Sep-12 01-Oct-12 − 
41 EFTA - Korea, Republic of Goods & Services 23-Aug-06 01-Sep-06 − 
42 EFTA - Mexico Goods & Services 25-Jul-01 01-Jul-01 − 
43 EFTA - Singapore Goods & Services 14-Jan-03 01-Jan-03 − 
44 EFTA - Ukraine Goods & Services 18-Jun-12 01-Jun-12 − 
45 El Salvador- Honduras - 
Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 06-Apr-10 01-Mar-08 − 
46 EU - Albania Goods & Services 07-Mar-07(G) 
07-Oct-09(S) 01-Dec-06(G) 
01-Apr-09(S) YES  
(Title V,  
Chapter II 
"Establishment", 
Article 56) 
47 EU - CARIFORUM States EPA Goods & Services 16-Oct-08 01-Nov-08 − 
48 EU - Central America Goods & Services 26-Feb-13 01-Aug-13 − 
49 EU - Chile Goods & Services 03-Feb-04(G) 
28-Oct-05(S) 01-Feb-03(G) 
01-Mar-05(S) − 
50 EU - Colombia and Peru Goods & Services 26-Feb-13 01-Mar-13 − 
51 EU - Former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia Goods & Services 23-Oct-01(G) 
02-Oct-09(S) 01-Jun-01(G) 
01-Apr-04(S) YES  
(Title V,  
Chapter II 
"Establishment", 
Article 54) 
52 EU - Georgia Goods & Services 02-Jul-14 *  n.a. 
53 EU - Korea, Republic of Goods & Services 07-Jul-11 01-Jul-11 − 
54 EU - Mexico Goods & Services 25-Jul-00(G) 
21-Jun-02(S) 01-Jul-00(G) 
01-Oct-00(S) − 
55 EU - Montenegro Goods & Services 16-Jan-08(G) 
18-Jun-10(S) 01-Jan-08(G) 
01-May-10(S) − 
56 EU - Rep. of Moldova Goods & Services 30-Jun-14 * n.a. 
57 EU - Serbia Goods & Services 31-May-10(G) 
20-Dec-13(S) 01-Feb-10(G) 
01-Sep-13(S) − 
58 EU - Ukraine Goods & Services 01-Jul-14 *  n.a. 
59 European Economic Area (EEA) Services 13-Sep-96 01-Jan-94 Horizontal 
Safeguard 
Measures 
(Part VII, 
Chapter 4, 
Articles 112-
114) 
60 European Free Trade 
Association (EFTA) Goods 
& Services 14-Nov-59(G) 
15-Jul-02(S) 03-May-60(G) 
01-Jun-02(S) Horizontal 
Safeguard 
Measures 
(Chapter XIV, 
Articles 40 and 
41) 
61 Guatemala - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 11-Jul-11 01-Jul-06 − 
62 Hong Kong, China - New 
Zealand Goods & Services 03-Jan-11 01-Jan-11 − 
63 Iceland - Faroe Islands Goods & Services 10-Jul-08 01-Nov-06 − 
64 India - Japan Goods & Services 14-Sep-11 01-Aug-11 − S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 31 - 
 
   RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification Date of entry 
into force Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
65 India - Malaysia Goods & Services 06-Sep-11 01-Jul-11 YES 
(Article 8.13) 
66 India - Singapore Goods & Services 03-May-07 01-Aug-05 Prohibition of 
safeguard action 
+ Review clause 
(Article 7.14) 
67 Japan - Indonesia Goods & Services 27-Jun-08 01-Jul-08 YES 
(Article 89) 
68 Japan - Malaysia Goods & Services 12-Jul-06 13-Jul-06 YES 
(Article 106) 
69 Japan - Mexico Goods & Services 31-Mar-05 01-Apr-05 − 
70 Japan - Peru Goods & Services 24-Feb-12 01-Mar-12 − 
71 Japan - Philippines Goods & Services 11-Dec-08 11-Dec-08 − 
72 Japan - Singapore Goods & Services 08-Nov-02 30-Nov-02 − 
73 Japan - Switzerland Goods & Services 01-Sep-09 01-Sep-09 − 
74 Japan - Thailand Goods & Services 25-Oct-07 01-Nov-07 YES 
(Article 84) 
75 Japan - Viet Nam Goods & Services 01-Oct-09 01-Oct-09 YES  
Consultations 
(Article 73) 
76 Jordan - Singapore Goods & Services 07-Jul-06 22-Aug-05 YES 
(Article 4.4 
para. 4) 
77 Korea, Republic of - Chile Goods & Services 08-Apr-04 01-Apr-04 − 
78 Korea, Republic of - India Goods & Services 01-Jul-10 01-Jan-10 Prohibition of 
safeguard action 
+ Review clause 
(Article 6.11) 
79 Korea, Republic of - Singapore Goods & Services 21-Feb-06 02-Mar-06 − 
80 Korea, Republic of - US Goods & Services 15-Mar-12 15-Mar-12 − 
81 Malaysia - Australia Goods & Services 13-May-13 01-Jan-13 YES  
(Article 8.13) 
82 Mexico - Central America Goods & Services 20-Jan-14 01-Sep-12 − 
83 Mexico - Uruguay Goods & Services 28-Jun-13 15-Jul-04 − 
84 New Zealand - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 25-Nov-13 01-Dec-13 − 
85 New Zealand - Malaysia Goods & Services 07-Feb-12 01-Aug-10 YES 
(Article 8.12) 
86 New Zealand - Singapore Goods & Services 04-Sep-01 01-Jan-01 − 
87 Nicaragua - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 09-Jul-09 01-Jan-08 − 
88 North American Free Trade 
Agreement (NAFTA) Goods & Services 29-Jan-93(G) 
01-Mar-95(S) 01-Jan-94 YES 
(Annex 1413.6 
– Section B – 
Payments 
System) 
89 Pakistan - China Goods & Services 18-Jan-08(G) 
20-May-10(S) 01-Jul-07(G) 
10-Oct-09(S) YES 
(Article 9) S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 32 - 
 
   RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification Date of entry 
into force Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
90 Pakistan - Malaysia Goods & Services 19-Feb-08 01-Jan-08 YES 
(Article 81) 
91 Panama - Chile Goods & Services 17-Apr-08 07-Mar-08 − 
92 Panama - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 28-Jul-09 01-Jan-04 − 
93 Panama - Costa Rica  
(Panama - Central America) Goods & Services 07-Apr-09 23-Nov-08 − 
94 Panama - El Salvador  
(Panama - Central America) Goods & Services 24-Feb-05 11-Apr-03 − 
95 Panama - Guatemala  
(Panama - Central America) Goods & Services 22-Apr-13 20-Jun-09 − 
96 Panama - Honduras  
(Panama - Central America ) Goods & Services 16-Dec-09 09-Jan-09 − 
97 Panama - Nicaragua  
(Panama - Central America) Goods & Services 25-Feb-13 21-Nov-09 − 
98 Panama - Peru Goods & Services 23-Apr-12 01-May-12 − 
99 Panama - Singapore Goods & Services 04-Apr-07 24-Jul-06 − 
100 Peru - Chile Goods & Services 29-Nov-11 01-Mar-09 − 
101 Peru - China Goods & Services 03-Mar-10 01-Mar-10 − 
102 Peru - Korea, Republic of Goods & Services 09-Aug-11 01-Aug-11 − 
103 Peru - Mexico Goods & Services 22-Feb-12 01-Feb-12 − 
104 Peru - Singapore Goods & Services 30-Jul-09 01-Aug-09 − 
105 Singapore - Australia Goods & Services 25-Sep-03 28-Jul-03 Prohibition of 
safeguard action  
(Article 13) 
106 Singapore - Chinese Taipei Goods & Services 22-Apr-14 19-Apr-14 − 
107 Southern Common Market 
(MERCOSUR) Goods & Services 17-Feb-91(G) 
05-Dec-06(S) 29-Nov-91(G) 
07-Dec-05(S) − 
108 Switzerland - China Goods & Services 30-Jun-14 01-Jul-14 − 
109 Thailand - Australia Goods & Services 27-Dec-04 01-Jan-05 Reference to 
GATS 
(Article 815 + 
Side letter on 
services) 
110 Thailand - New Zealand Goods & Services 01-Dec-05 01-Jul-05 −4 
111 Trans-Pacific Strategic 
Economic Partnership  Brunei Darussalam – Chile - New Zealand - Singapore Goods & Services 18-May-07 28-May-06 − 
112 Ukraine - Montenegro Goods & Services 25-Apr-13 01-Jan-13 − 
113 US - Australia Goods & Services 22-Dec-04 01-Jan-05 − 
114 US - Bahrain Goods & Services 08-Sep-06 01-Aug-06 − 
115 US - Chile Goods & Services 16-Dec-03 01-Jan-04 − 
116 US - Colombia Goods & Services 08-May-12 15-May-12 − 
                                               
4 No full Agreement on Trade in Services concluded yet. Paragraph 2 of Article 8.1 ("Liberalization of 
Trade Services") stipulates that: " 2. For the purposes of Paragraph 1, th e Parties shall enter into negotiations 
on trade in services within three years from the date of  entry into force of this Agreement, with the aim of 
concluding an agreement to liberalize trade in serv ices between the two Parties as soon as possible. " S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 33 - 
 
   RTA Name Coverage Date of 
notification Date of entry 
into force Safeguard-
type or 
safeguard-
related 
provision 
117 US - Jordan Goods & Services 15-Jan-02 17-Dec-01 − 
118 US - Morocco Goods & Services 30-Dec-05 01-Jan-06 − 
119 US - Oman Goods & Services 30-Jan-09 01-Jan-09 − 
120 US - Panama Goods & Services 29-Oct-12 31-Oct-12 − 
121 US - Peru Goods & Services 03-Feb-09 01-Feb-09 − 
122 US - Singapore Goods & Services 17-Dec-03 01-Jan-04 − 
Source: WTO Secretariat, RTA Database. 
_______________ 
 S/WPGR/W/64 
 
- 34 - 
 
   
ANNEX III 
LIST OF RTAS NOTIFIED UNDER GATS ARTICLE V THAT ARE NO LONGER IN FORCE  
(LAPSED AGREEMENTS), SITUATION AS OF 31 JULY 2014 
 RTA Name Coverage Date of 
Entry into 
Force 
(Services) Date of 
lapse 
1 Mexico - Guatemala (Mexico - Northern Tr iangle) Goods & Services 15-Mar-01 01-Sep-13 
2 Costa Rica - Mexico Goods & Services 01-Jan-95 01-Jul-13 
3 EU - Croatia Goods & Services 01-Feb-05 01-Jul-13 
4 Mexico - Honduras (Mexico - Northern Triangle) Goods & Services 01-Jun-01 01-Jan-13 
5 Mexico - El Salvador (Mexico - Northern Triangle) Goods & Services 15-Mar-01 01-Sep-12 
6 Mexico - Nicaragua Goods & Services 01-Jul-98 01-Sep-12 
7 EC - Bulgaria Europe Agreement Goods & Services 01-Feb-95 01-Jan-07 
8 EC - Romania Europe Agreement Goods & Services 01-Feb-95 01-Jan-07 
9 EC - Czech Republic Europe Agreement Goods & Services 01-Feb-95 01-May-04 
10 EC - Estonia Agreement Goods & Services 01-Jan-95 01-May-04 
11 EC - Hungary Europe Agreement Goods & Services 01-Feb-94 01-May-04 
12 EC - Latvia Agreement Goods & Services 01-Jan-95 01-May-04 
13 EC - Lithuania Goods & Services 01-Jan-95 01-May-04 
14 EC - Poland Europe Agreement Goods & Services 01-Feb-94 01-May-04 
15 EC - Slovak Republic Europe Agreement Goods & Services 01-Feb-95 01-May-04 
16 EC - Slovenia Europe Agreement Services 01-Feb-99 01-May-04 
Source: WTO Secretariat, RTA Database. 
 
__________