G/SG/N/8/THA/4  
G/SG/N/10/THA/4  
G/SG/N/11/THA/5  
 
20 Decem ber 2016  
(16-6964) Page: 1/7 
Committee on Safeguards  Original: English  
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER A RTICLE 12.1(B) OF TH E AGREEMENT ON  
SAFEGUARDS ON FINDIN G A SERIOUS INJURY O R THREAT  
THEREOF CAUSED BY IN CREASED IMPORTS  
NOTIFICATION PURSUAN T TO ARTICLE 12.1(C)  
OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUAR DS (PROPOSAL OF A MEASU RE) 
NOTIFICATION PURSUAN T TO ARTICLE 9, FOOT NOTE 2  
OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS  
THAILAND  
(Structural Hot Rolled H -Beam with Alloy)  
The following communication, dated 16 December 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Thailand.  
 
_______________  
 
 
With refe rence to Thailand 's notification on the initiation of the safeguard investigation against 
imports of Structural Hot Rolled H-Beam with Alloy  on 9 February 2016 (WTO Document s 
G/SG/N/6/THA/5 and G/SG/N/6/THA/5/Corr.1), Thailand hereby submits notification t o the 
Committee on Safeguards pursuant to Article 12.1(b) of the Agreement on Safeguards on findings 
of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports and Article 9 footnote 2 on taking 
the decision not to apply the measure against products o riginating in developing countries.  
 
Consistent with Article 12.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards,  this notification contains all pertinent 
information relating to the proposed application of the safeguard measure on Structural Hot Rolled 
H-Beam with Alloy  (hereinafter refer to as "product concerned "). 
 
1  PRECISE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT CONCE RNED  
The product concerned is Structural Hot Rolled H-Beam with Alloy and currently classifiable in the 
Thai Customs Tariff Code 2012 at subheadings: 7228.70.10000 and  7228.70.90000. Please note 
that the Thai Customs Tariff Code is only for reference purpose, the product concerned is as 
described.  
 
2  INFORMATION ON WHETH ER THERE IS AN ABSOL UTE INCREASE IN IMPO RTS OR AN 
INCREASE IN IMPORTS RELATIVE TO DOMESTIC  PRODUCTION  
During the period of investigation (POI) covered from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2015 
(5 years), the product concerned was imported into Thailand in significantly increased quantities, 
both in absolute term and relative term to domestic production. The increase of imports has been 
recent enough, sudden enough, sharp enough, and significant enough, both quantitatively and 
qualitatively, to cause or threaten to cause serious injury, particularly in 2015.  
 G/SG/N/8/THA/4 • G/SG/N/10/THA/4 • G/SG/N/11/THA/5  
 
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  Absolute term : 
 
Year Total Import  
(MT)  % Change  
2011 - - 
2012 - - 
2013 - - 
2014 x,xxx - 
2015 xx,xxx  357 
Note: "x" refers to confidential information  
Source : Information from Thai Industrial Standards Institute, Ministry of Industry.  
 
In absolute term, the volume of imports of the product concerned in creased rapidly in 2014 
from 0 metric ton between 2011 and 2013 and has continued to significantly rise up in 2015. 
From 2014 to 2015, the imports increased steeply by 357% . 
 
Relative Term:  
 
Import in relation to 
Domestic production  
(indexed)  2011  2012  2013 2014  2015  
- - - - 100 600 
 
While the imports of the product concerned increased for 357% from 2014 to 2015, the domestic 
production, on the contrary, has declined sharply. The table above shows that the ratio of imports 
in relation to the production of  domestic industry increased from 100 points in 2014 to 600 points 
in 2015.  
 
3  EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS INJURY OR THREAT THE REOF  
Threat of Serious Injury:  
 
A substantive evaluation of the effect of all relevant factors having a bearing on situation of the 
domest ic industry during the POI has been conducted. It was concluded that the increased imports 
of product concerned threaten to cause serious injury since the serious injury is clearly imminent 
based on the significant impairment to the domestic industry’s ove rall condition in 
year 2014-2015, when the imports surged, in terms of shrinking market share; declining 
production and domestic sales; underutilization of production capacity; and decreasing profits and 
return on capital employed. Following parameters hav e been objectively examined:  
 
Item  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  
Domestic Sales Value (million Baht)*  100 132 141 124 90 
Domestic Sales Quantity (MT)*  100 130 145 132 108 
Market share (%)  100 100 100 98.22  90.84  
Import Volume (MT)*  - - - 2 11 
Consumption ( MT)* 100 130 145 134 119 
Production (MT) * 100 112 120 112 88 
Capacity Utilisation (%)  66 74 79 74 58 
Productivity (%)  94 95 96 96 96 
Profit/Loss (million Baht)*  100 168 273 148 116 
Employment (number)*  100 98 99 99 100 
Inventory (MT)*  100 107 138 140 104 
Cost of Production (Baht/MT)*  100 98 87 92 80 
Return on Capital Employed (%)  7.91 10.33  19.02  11.68  9.86 
* Index: Year 2011 = 100  
 G/SG/N/8/THA/4 • G/SG/N/10/THA/4 • G/SG/N/11/THA/5  
 
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  Effect of Increased Imports on Prices:  
 
In addition to the above -mentioned parameters, an evaluation of the following  figures has been 
conducted. Therefore, it reveals that the imported products have been caused price undercutting 
and price depression during the period concerned.  
 
Item  
(indexed)  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  
 
Sale Price  100 101 97 94 83 
Import Price Compari ng with sale price  - - - 81 72 
Price Undercutting  - - - 13 11 
 
Unforeseen Developments:  
 
This analysis on unforeseen development is carried out during the investigation to find out which 
issues, that were unforeseen while concessions at the WTO were made , have caused a sudden, 
sharp and significant increase in the imports. Such increase of imports was attributed to the 
adverse effect of excess capacity in global steel industry and the oversupply of steel products in 
China. Hence, the countries of major st eel producers, especially China, need to export their 
products to other possible markets, including Thailand, to absorb the oversupply products available 
in their home countries and to utilize their excess capacity. In the same way, the significant 
increas e of imports was attributed to the trade diversion due to the imposition of trade remedy 
measures in many importing countries against several major exporting producers/countries such 
as Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Vietnam. The shift of produ ct concerned exporting to 
the markets without such measures was a consequence. This situation can be regarded as an 
unforeseen development resulting in increase in import threatening to cause serious injury to the 
domestic industry.  
 
4  EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS INJURY OR THREAT THER EOF CAUSED BY INCREA SED 
IMPORTS  
During the POI, the examination of other factors that may contribute to the imminent impairment 
of the overall condition of the domestic industry was also undertaken i.e. domestic demand, 
efficiency in ma nagement and export performance of domestic industry. On the basis of objective 
evidence, the investigation demonstrated that no such factors other than increased imports were 
found causing the overall impairment to domestic industry. Thus, the increased i mports of the 
product concerned were the only threat of serious injury suffered by the domestic industry.  
 
5  DESCRIPTION OF THE P ROPOSED MEASURE  
The proposed safeguard measure will be applied in relation to increased imports in order to 
remedy or prevent th e threat of serious injury suffered by the domestic industry.  
 
Following due consideration and objective examination of all evidence presented by all interested 
parties and based on the facts above -mentioned, the Committee on Safeguard Measures of 
Thailand , therefore, proposed the imposition of a definitive safeguard measure. Such a measure 
shall be in a form of safeguard duty and take effect for three (3) years from January 2017.  
 
In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Thai Safeguard measures on  Increased Imports 
Act B.E. 2550 (2007), which refer to Thailand’s obligations under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the 
WTO Agreement on Safeguards, the measure shall be progressively liberalized at regular intervals 
as follows:  
 
Duration  Duty  
The date the definitive measure takes effect (1st period)  31.43% of C.I.F. price  
2nd period  31.05% of C.I.F. price  
3rd period  30.68% of C.I.F. price  
 
The proposed definitive measure will not be applied to a product concerned originating in or 
exported from any devel oping country as long as its share of imports of the product concerned in 
Thailand does not exceed 3%, provided that developing country Members with less than 
3% import share collectively account for not more than 9% of total imports of the product G/SG/N/8/THA/4 • G/SG/N/10/THA/4 • G/SG/N/11/THA/5  
 
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  concern ed. The list of developing countries excluded from the proposed definitive measure is 
attached herewith.  
 
In addition, the exemption of imposition of definitive safeguard duty will be granted for imports of 
certain product concerned under the following cas es:  
 
(1) Imports of H -Beam products for special usages or being classified as special grade 
steels as follows:  
 
a. H-Beam products with Alloy which have the property of the tensile strength of 
58 kilogram/mm2 or more; or  
 
b. H-Beam products with Alloy which have t he property of the flange thickness of 
40 mm or more;  
 
(2) Imports of H -Beam products with Alloy in which the height is less than 100 mm or 
more than 912 mm; and  
 
(3) Imports of H -Beams products with Alloy that are not in conformity with Thai Industrial 
Standards (TIS) and intended to be manufactured, further processed or incorporated 
into a finished product that will be exported from the Kingdom of Thailand under the 
Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act, the Investment Promotion Act, and the 
Custom s Act.  
 
 
6  PUBLIC HEARING AND P RIOR CONSULTATION WI TH THOSE MEMBERS HAV ING A 
SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST  AS EXPORTERS OF THE PRODUCT CONCERNED.  
Adequate opportunity for all interest parties to present their views will be provided before the 
imposition of the defi nitive safeguard measure. Public hearing will be held on 28 December 2016  
at the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT), Ministry of Commerce of Thailand and the prior 
consultations is scheduled to be held, upon request, for the Members having substantial inter est as 
exporters on 29 December 2016 .  
 
For further information, please contact  
 
Department of Foreign Trade (DFT), Ministry of Commerce of Thailand  
563 Nonthaburi Road, Bangkasor, Meung Nonthaburi 11000 THAILAND  
Telephone: (662) 547 -4722 Facsimile: (662) 547-4741  
 
_______________  
 
 G/SG/N/8/THA/4 • G/SG/N/10/THA/4 • G/SG/N/11/THA/5  
 
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  ANNEX  
LIST OF DEVELOPING C OUNTRIES A ND SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORIES  
EXCLUDED FROM THE IM POSITION OF PROPOSED  DEFINITIVE SAFEGUARD  
MEASURES ON STRUCTUR AL HOT ROLLED H -BEAM WITH ALLOY  
 
No. COUNTRY  No. COUNTRY  
1 Afghanistan  37 Congo 
2 Albania  38 Cook Islands  
3 Algeria  39 Costa Rica  
4 American Samoa  40 Cote d'Ivoire  
5 Angola  41 Cuba 
6 Anguilla  42 Curacao  
7 Antigua and Barbuda  43 Democratic People's Republic of Korea  
8 Argentina  44 Democratic Republic of the Congo  
9 Armenia  45 Djibouti  
10 Aruba  46 Dominica  
11 Azerbaijan  47 Dominican Republic  
12 Bahamas  48 Ecuador  
13 Bahrain  49 Egypt  
14 Bangladesh  50 El Salvador  
15 Barbados  51 Equatorial Guinea  
16 Belarus  52 Eritrea  
17 Belize  53 Ethiopia  
18 Benin  54 Falkland Islands (Malvinas)  
19 Bhutan  55 Federal Republic of Brazil  
20 Bolivia (Plurinational State of)  56 Fiji 
21 Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba  57 French Polynesia  
22 Bosnia and Herzegovina  58 Gabon  
23 Botswana  59 Gambia  
24 British Virgin Islands  60 Georgia  
25 Brunei Darussalam  61 Ghana  
26 Burkina Faso  62 Grenada  
27 Burundi  63 Guam  
28 Cambodia  64 Guatemala  
29 Cameroon  65 Guinea  
30 Cape Verde  66 Guinea -Bissau  
31 Cayman Islands  67 Guyana  
32 Central African Republic  68 Haiti 
33 Chad 69 Honduras  
34 Chile 70 Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of 
China  
35 Colombia  71 Indonesia  
36 Comoros  72 Iran (Islamic Republic of)  G/SG/N/8/THA/4 • G/SG/N/10/THA/4 • G/SG/N/11/THA/5  
 
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  No. COUNTRY  No. COUNTRY  
73 Iraq 113 Oman  
74 Jamaica  114 Pacific Islands, Trust Territory  
75 Jordan  115 Pakistan  
76 Kazakhstan  116 Palau  
77 Kenya  117 Panama  
78 Kiribati  118 Papua New Guinea  
79 Kuwait  119 Paraguay  
80 Kyrgyzstan  120 Peru 
81 Lao People's Democratic Republic  121 Philippines  
82 Lebanon  122 Qatar  
83 Lesotho  123 Republic of India  
84 Liberia  124 Republic of Korea  
85 Libya 125 Republic of Mold ova 
86 Macao, Special Administrative Region of China  126 Republic of Turkey  
87 Madagascar  127 Russian Federation  
88 Malawi  128 Rwanda  
89 Malaysia  129 Saint Helena  
90 Maldives  130 Saint Kitts and Nevis  
91 Mali 131 Saint Lucia  
92 Marshall Islands  132 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  
93 Mauritania  133 Samoa  
94 Mauritius  134 Sao Tome and Principe  
95 Mexico  135 Saudi Arabia  
96 Micronesia (Federated States of)  136 Senegal  
97 Mongolia  137 Serbia  
98 Montenegro  138 Serbia and Montenegro  
99 Montserrat  139 Seychelles  
100 Morocco  140 Sierra Leone  
101 Mozambique  141 Singapore  
102 Myanmar  142 Sint Maarten (Dutch part)  
103 Namibia  143 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia  
104 Nauru  144 Solomon Islands  
105 Nepal  145 Somalia  
106 Netherlands Antilles  146 South Africa  
107 New Caledonia  147 South Sudan  
108 Nicaragua  148 Sri Lanka  
109 Niger  149 State of Palestine  
110 Nigeria  150 Sudan  
111 Niue 151 Suriname  
112 Northern Mariana Islands  152 Swaziland  G/SG/N/8/THA/4 • G/SG/N/10/THA/4 • G/SG/N/11/THA/5  
 
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  No. COUNTRY  No. COUNTRY  
153 Syrian Arab Republic  167 Ukraine  
154 Taiwan Pr ovince, People’s Republic of China  168 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics  
155 Tajikistan  169 United Arab Emirates  
156 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia  170 United Republic of Tanzania  
157 Timor -Leste  171 Uruguay  
158 Togo 172 Uzbekistan  
159 Tokelau  173 Vanuatu  
160 Tonga  174 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)  
161 Trinidad and Tobago  175 Viet Nam  
162 Tunisia  176 Wallis and Futuna Islands  
163 Turkmenistan  177 Western Sahara  
164 Turks and Caicos Islands  178 Yemen  
165 Tuvalu  179 Zambia  
166 Uganda  180 Zimbabwe  
 
 
__________