WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/7/ISR/1 
G/SG/N/11/ISR/1 26 June 2009 
 
(09-3132) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.4 OF THE AGREEMENT 
ON SAFEGUARDS BEFORE TAKING A PROVISIONAL 
SAFEGUARD MEASURE REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 6 
 
NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 9, FOOTNOTE 2 
OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS 
 
ISRAEL 
 
(Steel Rebars
) 
 
  The following communication, dated 22 June 2009,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Israel.    
_______________  
 
  We enclose a notification pursuant to Article 12.4 of the Agreement on Safeguards , before 
taking provisional safeguard measures for imports of Steel Reebars (incorporating an offer of 
consultations under that Article);  and a notification pursuant to Article 9, footnote 2 of the Agreement 
on Safeguards,  on taking a decision not to apply those meas ures to products originating in developing 
countries.   
 G/SG/N/7/ISR/1 
G/SG/N/11/ISR/1 Page 2 
 
 
  NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.4 BEFORE TAKING 
PROVISIONAL SAFEGUARD MEASURES 
 
 1. Specify the product subject to the provisional safeguard measure 
 
 Steel rebars for construction, straight and sp iral, used for reinforcement of concrete in 
diameters 8 - 40 millimeter (0.31496 – 1.5748 inches).    
 The product concerned is currently classified within the Harmonized Commodity 
Description and Coding System  (HS) nomenclature codes 72.14.2000 and 72.13.1000.   
 
2. Specify the provisional safeguard measure 
  The provisional safeguard measure consists of a Safeguard duty, in the form of a temporary 
(bank) guarantee, for the amount of 133 US dollars per ton.    
3. Specify the date of introduction of the provisional safeguard measure 
 
 23 June 2009.   
 
4. Specify the expected duration of the provisional safeguard measure, if any decision on 
the duration of the measure has been made 
 
 Two hundred (200) days.   
 
5. Provide the basis for making a preliminary determination, as provided for in Article 6, 
that increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury;  and determining that there are critical circumstances where delay would cause damage which it would be difficult to repair 
  The Commissioner of Trade Levies carries out an inquiry, following an application submitted 
by domestic industries in order to determine whethe r increased imports have caused or are threatening 
to cause serious injury to the domestic industry, w ithin the meaning of the Agreement on Safeguards, 
in connection with the product defined in point 1 of this notification.    
 The interim findings of the inquiry are that the application contains sufficient evidence of 
serious injury to the domestic industry caused by increased imports, thereby meeting the conditions 
laid down by the rules in force to implement po ssible provisional safeguard measures.  The interim 
findings are recorded in the Preliminary Determin ation of the Commissioner of Trade Levies dated 
17 June 2009.    
 The above-mentioned conclusion is based  on the following considerations:   
 
a) Increased Imports :  The data available with the Commissioner of Trade Levies 
indicate that there has been an increase of im ports, in absolute and relative terms, from 2006 
to 2008.    G/SG/N/7/ISR/1 
 G/SG/N/11/ISR/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
Year Quantity, ton Value, $ Price, $/ton 
2006 244,312 117,030,279 479 
2007 275,430 157,334,708 571 
2008 275,820 234,480,837 850 
 
 There has been an increase of approximately 13 per cent in the quantity of goods imported.   
  There has been an increase of approximately 100 per cent in the value of goods imported.   
  The share of imports in the domestic mark et has gone up by approximately 25 per cent 
from 2006 and until the end of 2008. 
  b) Unforeseen Developments:  There has been a global decline in demand and prices of 
steel rebars, and also in the domestic market.  Despite the global and domestic decline, there was an increase of the quantity of imports, and a greater increase of the market share of the 
imports.   
   One of the reasons for the increased im ports is the global collapse of demand and 
prices of steel rebars and the consequent desper ate offloading of the piled-up stocks, leading 
to increased import to Israel, and since June 2008  - at fallen prices.  It has further been 
observed that the unprecedented uneven recessi on in many countries has led to increased 
import of steel rebars to Israel.   
  c) Serious Injury and Threat of Serious Injury:  The data available to the 
Commissioner of Trade Levies indicate that a sh arp decline in sales, market share of the 
domestic industries and a sharp decline of prices, occasionally even blow costs, leading to a 
severe decline in the profitability of the domestic industry.  All this has led to a decline in 
employment of personnel and even clos ure of plants for few months.   
   The trend in increase of imports and fall of import prices and current economic 
situation of global and domestic  demands, gives rise to threat of further serious injury to 
domestic producers.   
 
 d) Causal Link between Increased Import and Serious Injury or Threat of Serious 
Injury:  Imports are increasing and taking the share of domestic market.  At the same time 
the domestic industries have cut prices, to belo w-cost prices and have cut production leading 
to temporary closure of plants.  The interim findings in the preliminary determination show 
that the serious injury and threat of further serious injury is attributable to the increased 
import.   
  e) Adjustment Plan:   The domestic producers have proposed measures for facilitating 
adjustment of the domestic industry to the co mpetitive conditions with the imported goods.   
 
 f) Critical Circumstances:   The increase in imports have caused decrease of capacity 
utilization of the domestic producers leading to temporary shut downs.  Decline of prices, along with decline in sales, is causing heavy lo sses to the domestic producers.  Moreover, the 
loss of production, loss of sales, inventory built up and severe loss of working days along with loss of employment indicate critical circumstances.   
 G/SG/N/7/ISR/1 
G/SG/N/11/ISR/1 Page 4 
 
 
    In view of the above, critical circumstances exist justifying imposition of provisional 
safeguard duties immediately in order to save the domestic producers from injury which it 
would be difficult to repair if the appli cation of safeguard measure is delayed.   
 6. Offer of consultations under Article 12.4 
 
 The Government of Israel offers consulta tions on the provisional safeguard measures.   
 
7. Other information 
 
 The Preliminary Determination of the Commissioner of Trade Levies and other information regarding the investigation is available on the internet at:     http://www.moital.gov.il/dumping
 
 
 and also by direct contact to:     Commissioner of Trade Levies  Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor  Government of Israel 
 5 Bank Israel St., 
 P.o.box 3166  Jerusalem 91036  State of Israel  Tel:  972-2-6662621/2 
 Fax:  972-2-6662939 
 E-Mail:  reuben.pessah@moital.gov.il  G/SG/N/7/ISR/1 
 G/SG/N/11/ISR/1 
 Page 5 
 
 
  NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 9, FOOTNOTE 2, ON THE NON-APPLICATION OF 
SAFEGUARD MEASURE TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES UNDER ARTICLE 9.1 
 
1. Specification of the measure 
 
 The provisional safeguard measure consists of a Safeguard duty, in the form of a temporary 
(bank) guarantee, for the amount of 133 US dollars per ton.    
2. Product subject to the measure 
 
 The provisional measure applies to Steel Rebars , straight and spiral, classified within the 
Harmonized Commodity Descri ption and Coding System  (HS) nomenclature codes 72.14.2000 
and 72.13.1000.    3. Developing countries to which the measur e is not applied under Article 9.1 of the 
Agreement on Safeguards, and the import shares of these countries individually and collectively 
 
 Imports of the products concerned originating in  any of the developing countries specified in 
Annex 1 shall not be subject to th e provisional safeguard measures.   
 
 G/SG/N/7/ISR/1 
G/SG/N/11/ISR/1 Page 6 
 
 
  ANNEX 1 
 
 List of developing countries to which the provisional measures apply or do not apply:    
Col.1  Col.2 Col.3  
1 Afghanistan Not Apply 
2 Algeria Not Apply 
3 Angola Not Apply 
4 Antigua and Barbuda Not Apply 
5 Argentina Not Apply 
6 Bahamas Not Apply 
7 Bahrain Not Apply 
8 Bangladesh Not Apply 
9 Barbados Not Apply 
10 Belize Not Apply 
11 Benin Not Apply 
12 Bhutan Not Apply 
13 Bolivia Not Apply 
14 Bosnia and Herzegovina Not Apply 
15 Botswana Not Apply 
16 Brazil Not Apply 
17 Brunei Darussalam Not Apply 
18 Burkina Faso Not Apply 
19 Burundi Not Apply 
20 Cambodia Not Apply 
21 Cameroon Not Apply 
22 Cape Verde Not Apply 
23 Central African Republic Not Apply 
24 Chad Not Apply 
25 Chile Not Apply 
26 China Not Apply 
27 Colombia Not Apply 
28 Comoros Not Apply 
29 Congo Not Apply 
30 Costa Rica Not Apply 
31 Cote d' lvoire Not Apply 
32 Cuba Not Apply 
33 Cyprus Not Apply 
34 Democratic People's Republic of Korea Not Apply 
35 Democratic Republic of the Congo Not Apply 
36 Djibouti Not Apply 
37 Dominica Not Apply 
38 Dominican Republic Not Apply 
39 Ecuador Not Apply 
40 Egypt Not Apply 
41 El Salvador Not Apply 
42 Equatorial Guinea Not Apply 
43 Eritrea Not Apply 
44 Ethiopia Not Apply  G/SG/N/7/ISR/1 
 G/SG/N/11/ISR/1 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Col.1  Col.2 Col.3  
45 Fiji Not Apply 
46 Gabon Not Apply 
47 Gambia Not Apply 
48 Ghana Not Apply 
49 Grenada Not Apply 
50 Guatemala Not Apply 
51 Guinea Not Apply 
52 Guinea-Bissau Not Apply 
53 Guyana Not Apply 
54 Haiti Not Apply 
55 Honduras Not Apply 
56 Indonesia Not Apply 
57 India Not Apply 
58 Iran (Islamic Republic of) Not Apply 
59 Iraq Not Apply 
60 Jamaica Not Apply 
61 Jordan Not Apply 
62 Kenya Not Apply 
63 Kiribati Not Apply 
64 Kuwait Not Apply 
65 Lao People's Democratic Republic Not Apply 
66 Lebanon Not Apply 
67 Lesotho Not Apply 
68 Liberia Not Apply 
69 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Not Apply 
70 Madagascar Not Apply 
71 Malawi Not Apply 
72 Malaysia Not Apply 
73 Maldives Not Apply 
74 Mali Not Apply 
75 Malta Not Apply 
76 Marshall Islands Not Apply 
77 Mauritania Not Apply 
78 Mauritius Not Apply 
79 Micronesia Not Apply 
80 Mongolia Not Apply 
81 Morocco Not Apply 
82 Mozambique Not Apply 
83 Myanmar Not Apply 
84 Namibia Not Apply 
85 Nepal Not Apply 
86 Nicaragua Not Apply 
87 Niger Not Apply 
88 Nigeria Not Apply 
89 Oman Not Apply 
90 Pakistan Not Apply 
91 Palestine Not Apply 
92 Panama Not Apply G/SG/N/7/ISR/1 
G/SG/N/11/ISR/1 Page 8 
 
 
  Col.1  Col.2 Col.3  
93 Papua New Guinea Not Apply 
94 Paraguay Not Apply 
95 Peru Not Apply 
96 Philippines Not Apply 
97 Qatar Not Apply 
98 Romania Not Apply 
99 Rwanda Not Apply 
100 St. Kitts and Nevis Not Apply 
101 St. Lucia Not Apply 
102 St. Vincent and the Grenadines Not Apply 
103 Samoa Not Apply 
104 Sao Tomo and Principe Not Apply 
105 Saudi Arabia Not Apply 
106 Senegal Not Apply 
107 Seychelles Not Apply 
108 Sierra Leone Not Apply 
109 Singapore Not Apply 
110 Solomon Islands Not Apply 
111 Somalia Not Apply 
112 South Africa Not Apply 
113 Sri Lanka Not Apply 
114 Sudan Not Apply 
115 Suriname Not Apply 
116 Swaziland Not Apply 
117 Syrian Arab Republic Not Apply 
118 Thailand Not Apply 
119 Togo Not Apply 
120 Tonga Not Apply 
121 Trinidad and Tobago Not Apply 
122 Tunisia Not Apply 
123 Turkmenistan Not Apply 
124 Tuvalu Not Apply 
125 Uganda Not Apply 
126 United Arab Emirates Not Apply 
127 United Republic of Tanzania Not Apply 
128 Uruguay Not Apply 
129 Vanuatu Not Apply 
130 Venezuela Not Apply 
131 Vietnam Not Apply 
132 Yemen Not Apply 
133 Yugoslavia Not Apply 
134 Zambia Not Apply 
135 Zimbabwe Not Apply 
136 Mexico Not Apply 
 
 
__________