G/L/1306/Suppl.1  
G/SG/N/12/KOR/4/Suppl.1  
 
28 September 2021  
(21-7235) Page: 1/2 
Council for Trade in Goods  
Committee on Safeguards  Original: English  
 
 
IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.5 OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS 
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS OF PROPOSED SUSPENSION OF CONCESSIONS 
AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH 2 OF ARTICLE 8 OF THE 
AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS  
REPUBLIC OF KOREA 
Supplement  
The following communication, dated and received on 28  September  2021, is being circulated at the 
request of the delegation of  the Republic of  Korea . 
 
_______________  
 
 
Pursuant to Article 12.5 of the Agreement on Saf eguards, and in accordance with the agreed format 
for notifications (G/SG/1, 1 July 1996; amended on 19 October 2009, G/SG/1/Rev.1 - 
G/SG/N/6/Rev.1 - G/SG/89) the Republic of Korea provides the immediate notification to the Council 
for Trade in Goods of th e proposed suspension of concessions and other obligations referred to in 
paragraph 2 of Article 8.  
 
1. Which Member is proposing suspension of concessions and other obligations 
referred to in article 8.2  
The Republic of Korea.  
2. Specify the measure, the product subject to the measure, the WTO document that 
notified the safeguard measure, and the Member imposing the measure in relation to 
which the Member is proposing suspension of concessions and other obligations referred 
to in Article 8.2 o f the Agreement on Safeguards  
The measures at issue are the safeguard measures applicable in the territory of the United Kingdom 
on certain steel products. On 1 February 2019, definitive safeguard measures on imports of certain 
steel products were imposed in the territory of the United Kingdom by virtue of Regulation 
(EU) 2019/159. Those measures replaced the provisional safeguard measures in place since 
18 July 2018 and consisted of 26 tariff -rate quotas imposed on 26 steel product categories with an 
out-of-quota duty of 25%.  
On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union but remained 
part of the European Union 's single market and Customs Union until 31 December 2020. The 
definitive safeguard measures remained in p lace ipso facto  in the United Kingdom until that date.  
On 30 September 2020, the United Kingdom issued a notice of determination (2020/06) specifying 
that the United Kingdom would continue to apply the definitive safeguard measures to imports into 
the Uni ted Kingdom of 19 of the 26 steel product categories from 1 January 2021. On 
1 October  2020, the United Kingdom published a notice of initiation of a transition review 
(No. TF0006) for these 19 product categories. Following this transition review, on 30 Ju ne 2021, the 
United Kingdom extended the definitive safeguard measures for 11 product categories for a period 
of 3 years, effective from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2024, and for 5 product categories for a period of G/L/1306/Suppl.1 • G/SG/N/12/KOR/4/Suppl.1  
 
- 2 - 
 
  1 year, effective from 1 July 2021 to 30 June  2022 through Public Notice 2021 No. 1 and 
Public  Notice  2021 No. 2, respectively.  
On 7 September 2021, the United Kingdom 's Trade Remedies Authority initiated a reconsideration 
of its recommendation to the Secretary of State for International Trade in the transition review of 
the safeguard on certain steel products (No. TF0006).  
The United Kingdom notified the extension of the definitive safeguard measures to the WTO in 
document G/SG/N/8/GBR/1/Suppl.3 - G/SG/N/10/GBR/1/Suppl.1 - G/SG/N/11/GBR/1/Suppl.1, 
dated 1 July 2021. The United Kingdom notified the initiation of a reconsideration of the Trade 
Remedies Authority to the Secretary of State for International Trade to the WTO in document 
G/SG/N/6/GBR/1/Suppl.1 - G/SG/N/8/GBR/1/Supp l.4 - G/SG/N/10/GBR/1/Suppl.2 - 
G/SG/N/11/GBR/1/Suppl.2, dated 9 September 2021.  
3. Describe the proposed suspension of concessions and other obligations  referred to 
in Article 8.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards, and the proposed date from which it will 
come into effect  
On 2 April 2019, the Republic of Korea submitted a notification (G/L/1306 - G/SG/N/12/KOR/4) of 
proposed suspension of concessions and other obligations referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 8 of 
the Agreement on Safeguards. Pursuant to this  notification, the Republic of Korea reserved its right 
to apply the proposed suspension from 19 July 2021 in case the period of application of the definitive 
safeguard measures was extended in accordance with Article 7 of the Agreement on Safeguards.  
Taking into account that the safeguard measures at issue have applied to imports into the 
United  Kingdom for more than 3 years and the United Kingdom 's recent decision to extend these 
measures, the Republic of Korea hereby notifies the Council for Trade in Go ods of its decision to 
suspend concessions or other obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 
(GATT 1994) that are substantially equivalent to the amount of trade affected by the measures in 
accordance with Article 8 of the Agreemen t on Safeguards.    
The suspension of substantially equivalent level of concessions or other obligations under GATT 1994 
to the trade of the United Kingdom will take the form of an increase in duties on selected products 
originating in the United Kingdom. T he details of the suspension of concessions or other obligations 
will be provided to the Council for Trade in Goods before its application as the level of the suspension 
of concessions or other obligations may vary as a consequence of any amendment to the safeguard 
measures resulting from the Trade Remedies Authority 's reconsideration of its recommendation to 
the Secretary of State for International Trade.  
The suspension of substantially equivalent concessions and other obligations will continue to apply 
until the United Kingdom 's safeguard measures are lifted.  
The Republic of Korea also reserves the right to withdraw, modify, supplement or replace this 
notification, and/or make a further notification or notifications, should it deem appropriate, including 
in light of any subsequent developments.  
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