WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SG/N/1/CHL/2/Suppl.1 
7 July 2011  
 
(11-3344) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   Spanish 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS, REGULATIONS AND 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES RELATING 
TO SAFEGUARD MEASURES 
 
CHILE 
 
Supplement 
   The following communication, dated 4 July 2011, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Chile. 
 
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  Pursuant to Article 12.6 of the Agreem ent on Safeguards, Chile hereby notifies Law 
No. 20.514, published in the Official Journal on Wednesday 22 June 2011, amending Law No. 18.525  
on safeguard measures. G/SG/N/1/CHL/2/Suppl.1 
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  LAW NO. 20.514 
 
AMENDING ARTICLE 7 OF LAW NO. 18. 525 "ESTABLISHING RULES ON THE 
IMPORTATION OF GOODS INTO CHILE" WITH REGARD TO SAFEGUARDS 
  
Whereas the National Congress has approved the following draft Law,  Draft Law:  
"Single Article  - The following amendments shall be incor porated into Article 7 of Law No. 18.525 
"Establishing rules on the importation of goods into Chile", the revised, coordinated and consolidated 
text of which was established pursuant to Decree  having Force of Law No. 31 of 2005 of the 
Ministry of Finance:  
1. Paragraph four is he reby amended as follows: 
 
(a) "One year" is replaced by "two years". 
 
(b) The phrase "for one further period not exceeding one year" is deleted. 
 
(c) The final sentence, which states that "E xtension of the surcharge shall include a 
timetable for its gradual dismantling, unl ess there are exceptional circumstances duly 
substantiated by the Commission", is replaced by the following: 
 
"The overall period of validity of the measure , including the period of application of 
the provisional measure, the original meas ure and the extension, shall not exceed 
four years.". 
 2. The following paragraph five, which is new, is  inserted after paragraph four;  the current 
paragraph five thus becomes paragraph six, and so on: 
 
"Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph seven, in cases where a 
surcharge is to be applied for more than one year, including the period of application of the 
provisional measure, the Commission shall anal yse the measure in place on an annual basis, 
taking into consideration the situation of the domestic industry affected and the rules set out in existing international agreements.". 
 
With my approval and endorsement;  to be en acted and implemented as a law of the Republic. 
 Santiago, 16 June 2011 - SEBASTIÁN PIÑERA  ECHENIQUE, President of the Republic - 
Felipe Larraín Bascuñán, Minister of Finance - Al fredo Moreno Charme, Minister of Foreign Affairs - 
Juan Andrés Fontaine Talavera, Minister of the Economy, Development and Tourism - José Antonio 
Galilea Vidaurre, Minister of Agriculture. 
 Transcribed for your information.  Rodrigo Álvarez Zenteno, Under-Secretary for Finance.  G/SG/N/1/CHL/2/Suppl.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
   In 2004, the revised, coordinated and consolidat ed text of Law No. 18.525 was established.  
This resulted in amendments to other different pr ovisions unrelated to trade defence measures or 
safeguards, the effect of which in practice was to move the entire safeguard rule from Article 9 to Article 7 of the final text.  The consolidated te xt is reproduced below to illustrate the amendment 
(italicized ) to Law No. 18.525 . 
 
Article 7  - In the cases referred to in Article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 
1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards of the World Trade Organization, the President of the Republic may apply ad valorem  tariff surcharges, through a Supreme Decree of the Ministry of 
Finance, subject to a favourable report by the Commission referred to in Article 9. 
 
 The surcharges referred to in the preceding pa ragraph may be applie d provisionally if the 
Commission determines that the circumstances re ferred to in Article 6 of the Agreement on 
Safeguards of the World Trade Organization exis t.  The Commission shall have a period not 
exceeding 30 days from the date of initiation of th e investigation in which to undertake this 
determination. 
  The Commission may initiate an investigation pursuant to a written request submitted by the 
domestic industry affected by the seri ous injury or threat of serious in jury.  Domestic industry shall be 
interpreted as referring to the industry described in Article 4.1(c) of the Agreement on Safeguards of 
the World Trade Organization.  The Commission ma y on its own initiative conduct an investigation 
when it possesses information that justifies so doing. 
  The surcharges referred to in this Article shall not be applied for more than one year 
two years , including the period of provisional applicati on of the measure.  This period may be 
extended for one further period not exceeding one year  when the reasons for their application still 
exist, subject to a favourable report by the Comm ission referred to in the first paragraph above.  
Extension of the surcharge shall include a time table for its gradual dismantling, unless there are 
exceptional circumstances duly substantiated by the Commission.  The overall period of validity of 
the measure, including the period of application of  the provisional measure, the original measure 
and the extension, shall not exceed four years . 
  Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph seven, in cases where a 
surcharge is to be applied for more than one year, including the period of application of the 
provisional measure, the Commission shall analy se the measure in place on an annual basis, 
taking into consideration the situation of the domes tic industry affected and the rules set out in 
existing international agreements. 
 
 Application of a surcharge which, added to the tariff in effect, amounts to a figure higher than 
the tariff bound in the World Trade Organization sha ll require the approval of three-quarters of the 
members of the Commission.   The application of emergency or safeguard m easures provided for in trade agreements shall 
be governed, as a supplementary matter, by the rules of  this Article and its regulations.  Where there is 
inconsistency between the regulati ons in this Law and those in the aforementioned agreements, the 
latter shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.   When compensation with another country is ag reed under a safeguard measure, the President 
of the Republic may, through a Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Finance and for the period of 
application of the measure, lower tariffs or accelerate the tariff reduction process provided for in the corresponding trade agreement.  G/SG/N/1/CHL/2/Suppl.1 
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   The President of the Republic may, through a Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Finance, 
raise the tariffs applicable to goods from other countries when no agreement on adequate 
compensation under a safeguard measure has been agr eed by this country in respect of Chilean goods. 
 
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