WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/Q1/GTM/5 
17 June 2008 
 (08-2832) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   Spanish 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER 
ARTICLE 12.6 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
Responses to Questions Posed by the UNITED STATES
1 
Regarding the Notification of GUATEMALA2 
 
  The following communication, dated 9 June 2008, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Guatemala.  
_______________ 
 
Question 1 
 
Please confirm that Guatemala has implemented the recently notified Regulations .  If so, 
what is the official name of the decree or resolution implementing these Regulations ?  
Additionally, if Guatemala has implemented these Regulations , on what date were they 
implemented? 
 
Response
 
 
 Guatemala has implemented the Central American Regulations on Safeguard Measures 
(hereinafter "Central American Regulations"), wh ich were adopted by Ministerial Decision 140-2007 
of 7 May 2007.  
Question 2 
 
Is the WTO Agreement on Safeguards self-implementing under Guatemalan law?  Also, 
in potential cases of conflict between th e WTO Agreement on Safeguards and the Regulations  
which legislation would have precedent? 
 
Response
 
 
 The WTO Agreements, including the Agreement on Safeguards, have been approved by the 
Congress of the Republic of Guatemala and hence in corporated in Guatemalan law.  The Central 
American Regulations, being an international instru ment, have likewise been incorporated in domestic 
legislation. 
 
 The WTO Agreements and the Central American  Regulations rank the same in Guatemala's 
legal hierarchy.  In the event of conflict between th e two legal instruments, a solution consistent with 
the rules of interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, as well as other applicable domestic rules, would have to be found. 
                                                     
 
1 G/SG/Q1/GTM/3. 
2 G/SG/N/1/GTM/3. G/SG/Q1/GTM/5 
Page 2  
 
  Question 3 
 
After reviewing the Regulations , we would ask that Guatemala please elaborate on the 
organizational relationship and process of trad e remedy proceedings between the investigating 
authority, Directorate-General of Integration of the Ministry or Secretariat of the Economy and 
the Council for Economic Integration.  
Response
 
  Each State Party has its own Ministry or Secretariat of the Economy.  Each Ministry or 
Secretariat usually has a Directorate or departme nt responsible for matters relating to Central 
American integration.  In some cases, the Director ate or department in ques tion is the directorate or 
technical unit in charge of safeguard investigations .  This is not the case of Guatemala, which has a 
Directorate for Central American Integration and a Directorate for the Administration of Foreign Trade.  The latter is responsible for conducting an ti-dumping, subsidy or safeguard investigations. 
 
 The Council of Ministers for Economic Integration is the highest authority of the Central American Economic Integration Subsystem a nd exercises the duties th at are assigned to it 
under the Guatemala Protocol to the Central American  Economic Integration Treaty.  There is also the 
Secretariat for Central American Economic Integr ation (SIECA), which provides support as needed – 
as does the WTO Secretariat – to the States Part ies and to the Council of Ministers for Economic 
Integration. 
  In the case of safeguard investigations, each Mi nistry or Secretariat of the Economy appoints 
its own investigating authorities in charge of conducting investigations in accordance with the 
Agreement on Safeguards and the Central American  Regulations.  Any provisional or definitive 
safeguard measure adopted must be notified to the other States Parties via SIECA, which in turn is 
required to convene the Council of Ministers.  Th e Council of Ministers is under the obligation to 
examine and approve the measures adopted on ce the investigation has been completed. 
 
Question 4 
 
Article 1 (Definitions) of the Regulations  define the investigating authority as "The 
Directorate or Directorate-General of Integration of the Ministry or Secretariat of the Economy or, as the case may be, the Directorate competen t for matters pertaining to Central American 
economic integration in each State Party, or the technical unit with responsibility for investigating situations that may warrant the application of the safeguard measures provided 
for in these Regulations".  However, it is not en tirely clear who the investigating authority will 
be for a safeguard action, nor how the Secretaria t for Central American Economic Integration 
(SIECA) will function with regards to a safeguar d investigation.  Please clarify whether there is 
one investigating authority across the Central American Tariff and Customs Region or whether each country will have its own investigating auth ority.  In addition, please clarify how SIECA 
will function in the safeguards process.  What role will SIECA play with regards to initiation of 
safeguards investigations and determining in jury and the causal link between imports and 
injury? 
 
Response
 
 
 The Article 1 definition of "investigating author ity" seeks to cover the different administrative 
forms the authority may take in each of the Cent ral American countries.  However, SIECA is not 
included in the definition.  SIECA's functions in the context of safeguard investigations are restricted 
to those laid down in Article 35 of the Central American Regulations.   G/SG/Q1/GTM/5 
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  Question 5 
 
Article 2 (Object of the Regulations) and Article 4 (Substantive and procedural rules) 
explain that the Regulations  "set out the provisions for the [Safeguards Agreement]", but that 
substantive aspects "not covered by [the Regulations ] shall be determined by the provisions of 
the [Safeguards Agreement]".  Are these provision s to be interpreted as creating a hierarchy 
such that in any conflict between the Regulations  and the Safeguards Agreement, the 
Regulations  prevail? 
 
Response  
 
 No.  The WTO Agreements and the Central American Regulations on Unfair Business 
Practices rank the same in Guatemala's legal hierarc hy.  In the event of conflict between the two legal 
instruments, a solution consistent with the rules of interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the 
Law of Treaties, as well as other applicable domestic rules, would have to be found. 
 
Question 6 
 
Please explain how Article 20 of the Regulations is consistent with Article 6 of the 
WTO Safeguards Agreement, including with respect to the requirement in Article 6 that there be "clear evidence" that increased imports have  caused or are threatening to cause serious 
injury.  
 
Response
 
  Article 20 of the Central American Regulati ons reflects the requirements and applicable 
provisions of Article 6 of the Agreement on Safeguar ds.  The first sentence of Article 20 stating that 
"[i]f evidence exists to justify the applicati on of a provisional measure" and the last sentence 
stipulating that the provisional m easure "shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of the 
Agreement [on Safeguards]", read  in conjunction with Articles 2 and 4 of the Central American 
Regulations, clearly show that the application of  a provisional safeguard measure must meet the 
requirements of Article 6 of the Agreement on Sa feguards, including the requirement of "clear 
evidence that increased imports have caused or  are threatening to cause serious injury". 
 
Question 7 
 
Article 23 (Verification of information) of the Regulations  notes that the investigating 
authority may conduct verification visits as it  deems necessary.  Given the WTO Agreement on 
Safeguards is silent on the issue of verification visits, can Guatemala please explain the circumstances that would result in a verification being conducted? 
 
Response
 
 
 The purpose of Article 23 is to allow the inves tigating authority to conduct verification visits 
as it deems necessary.  Visits are carried out when ever the investigation authority considers it 
appropriate, subject to the agreement of the firms concerned and provided that there is no objection on 
the part of the government of the country in questi on.  Since the investigating authority has discretion 
to conduct verification visits "as it deems necessar y", it is impossible to foresee what circumstances 
might lead to such visits. 
 G/SG/Q1/GTM/5 
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  Question 8 
 
Article 32 (Duration of safeguard measures) of the Regulations  states that a safeguard 
may be in place for a period not to exceed four years.  However, there is no provision of the 
Regulations  that states that a safeguard measure must be progressively liberalized throughout 
its duration as per Article 7, paragraph 4 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards.  Can 
Guatemala please clarify that it will progressive ly liberalize safeguard measures through their 
respective durations?  
 
Response
 
 
 Article 32 of the Central American Regulations  does not preclude the application of Article 7 
of the Agreement on Safeguards.  Hence, Guatemala would progressively liberalize measures at regular intervals during the period of application, in accordance with Article 7.4 of the Agreement on 
Safeguards. 
 
Question 9 
 
Article 32 (Duration of safeguard measures) of the Regulations  does not appear to 
address the application of a safeguard measure to an import which has previously been subject 
to a safeguard measure in accordance with Article 7, paragraphs 5 and 6 of the 
WTO Agreement on Safeguards.  Please clarif y how Guatemala will apply safeguards in 
situations in which a product was prev iously subject to a safeguard measure.  
 
Response
 
 
 Article 32 of the Central American Regulations mu st be read in the light of Article 7 of the 
Agreement on Safeguards.  The last paragraph of Article 32 clearly specifies that the "period of application of the measure shall not exceed four y ears, unless it is extended in conformity with the 
provisions of the Agreement [on Safeguards]".  Th is means that the application of a safeguard 
measure must also be consistent with the provisi ons of Article 7.5 and 7.6 of the Agreement on 
Safeguards. 
 
Question 10 
 
Article 37 (Review of the measure) of the Regulations  states:  "A safeguard measure that 
has been adopted may be reviewed, at the request of a party or ex officio, at any time during its 
application, in accordance with the provision s of the Agreement".  However, there is no 
discussion about a mandatory review for a safe guard measure the duration of which exceeds 
three years as per Article 7, paragraph 4 of th e WTO Agreement on Safeguards.  Please clarify 
that reviews will be mandatory if they exceed a three year period as per Article 7, paragraph 4 
of the WTO Safeguards Agreement.  Please confirm that Guatemala will only withdraw a safeguard measure or increase the pace of libera lization through these reviews, and will not use 
reviews to decrease the pace of liberalization.  
 
Response
 
  Article 37 of the Central American Regula tions does not preclude the application of 
Article 7.4 of the Agreement on Safeguards, which consequently applies in cases where a safeguard 
measure exceeds a three-year period, subject to the terms and conditions of this legal provision. 
  G/SG/Q1/GTM/5 
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  Question 11 
 
Article 38 (Publication) of the Regulations  notes that resolutions regarding the initiation 
of a safeguard investigation and the imposition of preliminary and/or final measures shall be 
published only once and at the cost of the interest ed party.  What would happen if an interested 
party refused to pay?  Please identify wh ich national newspapers would publish these 
notifications, as well as where the Official Journ al of the Central American Integration System 
can be located online.  
 
Response  
 
 Article 38 of the Central American Regulations does not stipulate payment as a prerequisite for publication of resolutions.  It merely specifies that the interested party is required to pay for 
publication in private newspapers.  
 As regards the second part of the question, the official journal of Guatemala is the Diario 
Oficial de Centroamérica  (Official Journal of Central America) , and private newspapers that would 
publish this kind of resolution include Diario La Hora , Siglo XXI , El Periódico and Prensa Libre .  
The Central American Integration System does not yet have an official journal. 
 
Question 12 
 
Article 39 (Remedies) of the Regulations  states that "The remedies provided for in the 
domestic legislation of each State Party shal l lie against resolutions issued by national 
authorities".  Please clarify whether this mean s that the laws and regulations issued by 
Guatemala with regard to the provision of remedies are now superseded by these Regulations . 
 
Response
 
  No.  Article 39 of the Central American Regulations simply states that remedies against resolutions issued by national authorities shall be those for which provision is made in the relevant 
domestic legislation.  No remedies against such r esolutions are provided for in the Central American 
Regulations. 
 
Question 13 
 
Article 41 (Amendments to the Regulations) of the Regulations states that "Each State 
Party shall submit a semi-annual report to the Ex ecutive Committee for Economic Integration, 
through SIECA, on the implementation of this instrument".  Please clarify how and where these 
semi-annual reports will be made available to interested parties.  
 
Response
 
 
 The second paragraph of Article 41 merely requires the States Parties to report twice a year to 
the Executive Committee for Economic Integration on the implementation of the Central American 
Regulations.  The purpose of such reports is to de termine whether there is any need to amend the 
Central American Regulations.  If so, amendments would be subject to approval by the Council of 
Ministers and would enter into force pursuant to the rules and procedures governing Central American 
integration and the domestic legal procedures of each St ate Party.  Publication in official journals and 
notification of the Committee on Safeguards would be sufficient for any "interested party" to have access to such information.  
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