WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/1/GTM/3 
25 February 2008 
 
 (08-0810) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   Spanish 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS, REGULATIONS AND 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES RELATING 
TO SAFEGUARD MEASURES 
 
GUATEMALA 
 
  The following communication, dated 21 February 2008, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Guatemala.  
_______________ 
 
 G/SG/N/1/GTM/3 
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  CENTRAL AMERICAN REGULATIONS ON 
SAFEGUARD MEASURES 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
 
 ARTICLE 1.  (Definitions)   For the purposes of these Regulations, the expressions indicated below 
shall have the following meaning: 
 
AGREEMENT:   The Agreement on Safeguards annexe d to the Agreement Establishing the 
World Trade Organization.  CONVENTION:   The Convention on the Central American Tariff and Customs Regime and 
its Protocols. 
 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS:   The Council of Ministers for Economic Integration 
established by Article 37 of the Guatemala Protocol.  DIRECTLY COMPETITIVE PRODUCT:   A product which is not a like product to the 
one with which it is compared but is essentia lly equivalent for commercial purposes because 
it is intended for the same use and is interchangeable with the latter product. 
 DOMESTIC INDUSTRY:   The domestic producers as a whole of the like or directly 
competitive products operating within the territory  of a State Party or those of them whose 
collective output of like or directly competitive products constitutes at least 25 per cent of the 
total domestic production of those products.  GATT 1994:   The General Agreement on Tariffs a nd Trade 1994, annexed to the Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization.  
GUATEMALA PROTOCOL:   The Protocol to the General Treaty on Central American 
Economic Integration, signed on 29 October 1993. 
 
INTERESTED PARTIES: 
  (a) An exporter or foreign producer or the importer of a product subject to investigation, 
or a trade or business association a majority  of the members of which are producers, 
exporters or importers of such product; 
  (b) the government of the country or countri es of origin or provenance of the products 
subject to investigation; 
 
 (c) a producer of the like or directly comp etitive product in the importing State Party or a 
trade or business association a majority of  the members of which produce the like or 
directly competitive product in the territory of the State Party;  and 
 
 (d) such other parties as the investigatin g authority may determine to be potential 
interested parties. 
 
INVESTIGATING AUTHORITY:   The Directorate or Directorate-General of Integration 
of the Ministry or Secretariat of the Economy or, as the case may be, the Directorate  G/SG/N/1/GTM/3 
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  competent 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.  LIKE PRODUCT:   A product which is identical, i.e. a like in all respects to the product 
under consideration, or in the absence of such a product, another product which, although not 
alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the product under consideration.  MINISTER:   The Minister or Secretary of each State Party having responsibility for matters 
relating to Central American economic integrati on or, as the case may be, the application of 
safeguard measures.  REGION:   All of the States Parties as a whole. 
 
SIECA:   The Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration. 
 STATES PARTIES:   The States Parties to the General Treaty on Central American 
Economic Integration, the Guatemala Protocol , and the Convention on the Central American 
Tariff and Customs Regime.  
SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST:   Interested WTO Members that export the product subject to 
the measure and would be affected by it shall be  considered to have a substantial interest in 
the measure.  THIRD COUNTRIES:   Countries that are not States Parties. 
 
WTO:   World Trade Organization. 
 ARTICLE 2.  (Object of the Regulations)   These Regulations set out the provisions for the 
implementation of Article XIX of the GATT 1994, th e Agreement, and, as appropriate, the provisions 
of the Guatemala Protocol and the Convention. 
 
ARTICLE 3.  (Scope)   The safeguard measures to which th ese Regulations refer shall apply to 
imports from third countries.  ARTICLE 4.  (Substantive and procedural rules)   All substantive aspects relating to the 
application of safeguard measures and procedural aspects not covered by these Regulations shall be 
determined by the provisions of the instruments referred to in Article 2 of these Regulations. 
 ARTICLE 5.  (Initiation of proceedings)  The process of investigation for the purpose of verifying 
whether safeguard measures should be applied ma y be initiated on application by the domestic 
industry or, in exceptional cases determined by the i nvestigating authority, ex  officio in accordance 
with the provisions of these Regulations and the Agreement. 
  Where the investigating authority proceeds ex officio, it shall notify the domestic industry for 
confirmation of its consent to the pursuit of the i nvestigation.  The domestic industry must constitute 
at least 25 per cent of the total domestic  production of the products at issue. 
 
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  CHAPTER II 
 
PROCEDURE FOR THE ADOPTION OF SAFEGUARD 
MEASURES AGAINST THIRD COUNTRIES 
  
ARTICLE 6.  (Purpose of the procedure)   The purpose of the investigation procedure shall be to 
determine whether or not it is appropriate to a pply safeguard measures when a product is being 
imported into the territory of a State Party from th ird countries in such increased quantities, absolute 
or relative to domestic production, and under such c onditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious 
injury to the domestic industry that pro duces like or directly competitive products. 
 ARTICLE 7.  (Investigating authority)   The investigating authority shall carry out the enquiries, 
analyses and evaluations it deems necessary to dete rmine the existence of increased imports, serious 
injury or threat thereof, and the causal link between  the two, for the purpose of establishing whether it 
is appropriate to impose a safeguard measure. 
 ARTICLE 8.  (Period of investigation)   The period of investigation shall be understood to be the 
period covered by imports of  products that are alike to or dir ectly competitive with domestic products, 
which are taking place in such quantities and conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury 
to the domestic industry.  The period of investigation shall be three years, without prejudice to the 
investigating authority being empowered to extend or  reduce such period.  The investigating authority 
shall indicate the period of investigation in  the resolution initiating the investigation. 
 ARTICLE 9.  (Standing)   Applications for initiation of an i nvestigation procedure may be made by 
representatives of the domestic industry prejudice d by the imports in relation to which the 
investigation is requested. 
 ARTICLE 10.  (Application requirements)   The application for initiation of an investigation shall 
contain at least the following information:   (a) Designation of the investigating aut hority to which the application is made; 
 
 (b) particulars of the applicant, and in the case of a legal representative, any accreditation 
documents as may be required by the resp ective State Party's domestic legislation; 
  (c) activity in which the affect ed producer(s) is/are engaged; 
 
 (d) description of the imported product or pr oducts, giving specifications and information 
enabling the product(s) to be compared with  domestic products, and the relevant tariff 
heading; 
  (e) description of the affected domestic product and its tariff heading; 
 
 (f) information demonstrating the increase in the volume of imports of the like or 
directly competitive product; 
  (g) information demonstrating the existence of ser ious injury or threat of serious injury to 
a domestic industry; 
  (h) volume and value of domestic producti on of the product alike to or directly 
competitive with the imported product; 
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   (i) description of the applicant's share, in volume and value terms, of domestic 
production, or as the case may be, that of the members of the organization to which the applicant belongs, indicating the percenta ge share of the output of their products 
within domestic production; 
 
 (j) volume and value of imports; 
  (k) request for initiation of an investigation and for the imposition of a safeguard 
measure; 
 
 (l) list of known importers and exporters and place at which they may be notified; 
  (m) country or countries of origin or provenance of the imports;   (n) service address; 
 
 (o) place and date;  and   (p) signature of the applicant or legal representative of the domestic industry.   The original application and accompanying documentation shall be provided in as many 
copies as the number of interested parties identified in the application, excep t in case of information 
which is considered confidential.  ARTICLE 11.  (Examination of the application)   Within thirty days of receiving the application, 
the investigating authority shall examine it and: 
 
 (a) Accept the application, if it fulfils th e requirements laid down in these Regulations, 
and declare the initiation of the investigation; 
  (b) if the application is incomplete, notify the applicant so that the latter may fulfil the 
relevant requirements within thirty days;  or 
 
 (c) reject the application by means of a reasoned resolution, if it does not provide 
sufficient evidence to justify initiating the inv estigation, or if the application has not 
been made on behalf of a domestic indus try in accordance with the provisions of 
these Regulations. 
 
 At the request of the applicant, the investig ating authority may extend the time-limit referred 
to in subparagraph (b) of this Article for a further period of not more than thirty days. 
  If the applicant submits the information requested  in accordance with subparagraph (b) of this 
Article, the investigating authority shall decide to initiate the investigation or reject the application 
within a period of not more than thirty da ys following the submission of the information. 
  If the information requested is not submitted w ithin the stipulated period, the investigating 
authority shall consider the application abandoned and reject and file it, without prejudice to the right 
of the party concerned subsequently to submit a new application. 
 
ARTICLE 12.  (Notification of rejection of the application)   The resolution rejecting an application 
shall be notified within ten days of its date of issue.  G/SG/N/1/GTM/3 
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  ARTICLE 13.  (Initiating resolution)   Where the investigating authority decides, following the 
examination referred to in Article 11 of these Regul ations, that there is evidence to justify an 
investigation, it shall issue a resolution d eclaring the initiation of the investigation. 
 ARTICLE 14.  (Information to be contained in the initiating resolution)   The resolution initiating 
an investigation shall contain at least the following information: 
  (a) Identification of the investigating auth ority initiating the procedure, and date and 
place of issue of the resolution; 
 
 (b) indication that the application and its accompanying documentation have been 
accepted; 
  (c) name or business name of the domestic producer or producers of like or directly 
competitive products and place at which they may be notified; 
 
 (d) name or business name of the importers and exporters and place at which they may be 
notified; 
  (e) country or countries of origin or pr ovenance of the imports under investigation; 
 
 (f) detailed description of the product or produc ts that have been or are being imported, 
together with their tariff heading; 
  (g) description of the domestic product alike to or directly competitive with the product 
that has been or is being imported; 
 
 (h) period of investigation;   (i) reasons and justification for the reso lution, with an account of the evidence 
submitted; 
 
 (j) time-limit granted to interested partie s to submit written stat ements and any other 
evidence they consider pertinent;  and 
  (k) determination of the information that is to be requested from the interested parties in 
questionnaires and forms. 
 
ARTICLE 15.  (Notification of initiation of an investigation)   The resolution initiating an 
investigation shall be notified directly to those interested parties of which there is reasonable 
knowledge and to the WTO Committee on Safeguards within ten days of the date of its publication.  
The notification to the interested parties shall be  accompanied by a copy of the application and 
non-confidential accompanying documents. 
 
 The notification may be sent by fax, electr onic mail, courier, or any other communication 
medium as may allow confirmation of receipt.   Interested parties shall have a period of forty -five days from the day following the notification 
in which to submit evidence.  At the request of an  interested party, the investigating authority may 
extend this time-limit for a period of not more than thirty days. 
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  ARTICLE 16.  (Time-limit for the investigation)   The investigation shall be concluded within 
six months, but may, in exceptional circumstances determined by the investigating authority, be 
concluded within a maximum of twelve  months of its date of initiation. 
 ARTICLE 17.  (Record and access thereto)   All information provided by interested parties, together 
with the information compiled by the investigating au thority ex officio, shall be filed in chronological 
order in two separate files, one of which shall c ontain public and the other confidential information. 
  Interested parties, their representatives a nd their counsel, duly accredited for the purpose, 
shall be entitled, at any stage of the proceedings, to  examine, read or copy any document or item of 
evidence in the record and to request certificati on thereof, with the exception of confidential 
information, which shall be accessible only to the in vestigating authority and to the party that supplied 
the information.   Such information may not be disclo sed during the investigation process. 
 
 Once the investigation has been concluded, anyone may access the file containing public 
information and may request the permission of the investigating authority to photocopy it. 
 ARTICLE 18.  (Confidentiality)   Pursuant to the Agreement and more specifically the domestic 
legislation of each State Party, access to information re garded as confidential shall be restricted to the 
party that supplied the information and the investigating authority. 
  Any information which is by nature confidentia l, for example because its disclosure would be 
of significant competitive advantage to a competitor or would have a significantly adverse effect upon 
the interested party that supplied the informati on or upon a third party from whom that interested 
party acquired the information, shall, upon good cause  shown, be treated as such by the investigating 
authority.   If the investigating authority finds that the requ est is not warranted and the interested party is 
either unwilling to make the information public or to authorize its disclosure in generalized or in 
summary form, the investigating authority ma y disregard such information unless it can be 
demonstrated satisfactorily from appropriate  sources that the information is correct. 
  Any interested party providing confidential information shall furnish a non-confidential 
summary thereof or state the reasons why it is not susceptible of summary.  
 Non-confidential summaries of information re garded as confidential shall be sufficiently 
explicit so that the other interested parties ha ve a clear understanding of the information supplied 
where such information is relevant, for example graphs showing data in percentage terms and a 
generic explanation of the data provided, inter alia . 
 ARTICLE 19.  (Investigative powers)   The investigating authority may request any kind of 
information, including technical opinions, from the various departments of the public administration, 
which shall provide it as rapidly as possible.  It ma y also request any advice it considers relevant and 
any steps to ascertain the alleged facts.  G/SG/N/1/GTM/3 
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  ARTICLE 20.  (Application and duration of provisional measures)   If evidence exists to justify 
the application of a provisional measure, the inves tigating authority shall recommend such measure to 
the Minister or Secretary, who may impose it by means of a resolution if the following prerequisites are fulfilled:  
 (a) If the resolution initiating the investig ation has been issued and published in 
accordance with the provisions of these Regulations; 
  (b) if there has been an affirmative prel iminary determination of evidence showing an 
increase in the volume of imports, serious injury or threat of serious injury, and the 
causal link between the two, in  accordance with the Agreement; 
  (c) if critical circumstances exist where delay would cause damage to the domestic 
industry which it would be difficult to repair;  and 
 
 (d) if such measures are necessary to prev ent serious injury to a domestic industry. 
  The duration of the provisional measure shall not exceed 200 days and shall be applied in 
accordance with the provisi ons of the Agreement. 
 ARTICLE 21.  (Nature of provisional measures)   Provisional measures shall take the form of 
increased duties, guaranteed by a security, whic h shall be promptly refunded if subsequent 
investigation does not determine that increased imports have caused or threaten to cause serious injury 
to a domestic industry.  ARTICLE 22.  (Notification and consultations)   Before adopting a provisional measure, the State 
Party shall notify the measure to the WTO Committ ee on Safeguards.  Once the measure has been 
imposed, the authorities of the State Party sha ll hold consultations with WTO Members having a 
substantial interest in the measure.   A resolution adopting a provisional measure shall be notified to the interested parties within ten days from its date of publication. 
 
ARTICLE 23.  (Verification of information)   The investigating authority may, at any time during 
the course of the investigation, conduct such verification visits as it may consider relevant. 
  The investigating authority shall gather in formation as it deems necessary and, where it 
considers it appropriate, shall examine and verify information from the interested parties so as to 
confirm its authenticity.   The investigating authority may conduct veri fication visits in other countries as required, 
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 question, which sha ll be officially informed thereof.  As soon as 
agreement has been obtained from the firms concerne d, the investigating authority shall notify the 
authorities of the exporting country of the names and addresses of the firms to be visited and the dates 
proposed.   Prior to the visit, the firms shall be advised of the general nature of the information to be 
verified, though this should not preclude requests duri ng the visit for further details to be provided in 
the light of the information obtained.  ARTICLE 24.  (Public hearing)   The purpose of public hearings shall be to allow the interested 
parties the opportunity orally to question or rebut the opposing parties with respect to the information  G/SG/N/1/GTM/3 
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  and evidence submitted before the investigation author ity, so as to enable it and the other interested 
parties to request further explanations or specific cl arifications, as well as to afford interested parties 
the opportunity to submit their views, inter alia , as to whether or not the application of the safeguard 
measure would be in the public interest.  
 The investigating authority shall notify interest ed parties of the holding of a public hearing 
fifteen working days in advance.  The public hearing shall be scheduled in good time and shall 
conclude the evidentiary period.  ARTICLE 25.  (Submissions)   After the evidentiary period has concluded with the public hearing, 
interested parties shall have fifteen days in which to present to the investigating authority submissions 
in writing in addition to those made at the public hearing.  ARTICLE 26.  (Withdrawal from the investigation)   The applicant may withdraw from the 
investigation at any time by providing its reasons in writing. 
 
 If an application for withdrawal is made after the initiation of the investigation, the 
investigating authority shall notify the interest ed parties and the WTO Committee on Safeguards of 
the withdrawal, whereby the investigation shall be deemed closed.  The investigating authority may 
continue the investigation only if, within a period  of thirty days of the notification, domestic 
producers expressly supporting continuation of the investigation account for at least 25 per cent of the 
domestic industry. 
 ARTICLE 27.  (Conclusion of the investigation)   The investigating authority shall complete the 
investigation and issue a final technical opinion.  W ithin three working days thereafter it shall submit 
the record together with the technical study an d relevant recommendations to the Minister or 
Secretary. 
  Within ten working days of receipt, the Minister or Secretary shall declare the investigation concluded and issue the final resolution, taking  into consideration both the record and the 
recommendations of the investigating aut hority and public interest criteria. 
 
ARTICLE 28.  (Final resolution)   The resolution concluding the investigation may be issued only 
once all steps have been taken to ensure an objectiv e decision.  The resolution may be of two kinds: 
  (a) It may authorize the application of a measure;  or  
 (b) it may declare that the measure should not  be applied and, where appropriate, revoke 
a provisional measure that has been adopted. 
 ARTICLE 29.  (Requirements of the final resolution)   The resolution authorizing the application of 
a definitive measure shall contain:  
 (a) The reasons and justification therefor; 
  (b) determination of the volume and incre ase of the imports under investigation and the 
conditions in which they were made; 
 
 (c) affirmative determination of serious in jury caused or threatened to the domestic 
industry and the causal relationship with the imports under investigation; 
  (d) nature of the measure established;  G/SG/N/1/GTM/3 
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   (e) expected duration of the measure;  and 
  (f) timetable for the phasing-out of the measure.  ARTICLE 30.  (Consultations and compensation)   Before imposing or extending a definitive 
safeguard measure, a period of thirty days shall be granted for consultations with WTO Members 
having a substantial interest.   For the purposes of granting compensation to a WTO Member or Members whose exports are affected by the imposition of the measure, the execu tive power or body of the State Party may agree 
to any appropriate measure of compensation provided for in its domestic legislation. 
  States Parties shall take account of the commitm ents entered into in the framework of Central 
American economic integration.  
ARTICLE 31.  (Notification of the final resolution)   The final resolution shall be notified to the 
interested parties and to the WTO Committee on Sa feguards within ten days of its publication. 
 ARTICLE 32.  (Duration of safeguard measures)   Measures imposed in  accordance with these 
Regulations shall be of an exceptional and tempor ary nature, and shall be in force only as long as 
necessary to prevent or redress the ser ious injury which caused them to  be applied, and to facilitate 
adjustment. 
  The period of application of the measure shall not exceed four years, unless it is extended in conformity with the provisions of the Agreement.  
ARTICLE 33.  (Imposition of a safeguard measure)   Resolutions imposing, modifying or 
eliminating provisional or definitive safeguard measur es shall be put into for ce in accordance with the 
domestic law of each State Party.  ARTICLE 34.  (Causal link)   For a safeguard measure to be adopted, there must be a causal link 
between the imports under investigation and the serious  injury or threat of serious injury to the 
domestic industry. 
  The determination referred to in the pr eceding paragraph shall not be made unless the 
investigation demonstrates, on the basis of objectiv e evidence, the existence of a causal link between 
increased imports of the product at issue and serious in jury or threat of serious injury.  When factors 
other than increased imports are causing injury to th e domestic industry at the same time, such injury 
shall not be attributed to increased imports.  ARTICLE 35.  (Transmittal to the Council)   The investigating authority shall transmit to SIECA a 
copy of resolutions for the application of provisi onal and definitive safeguard measures, where these 
involve increased duties, and of resolutions amending them, within not more than ten days of their 
publication, in order that SIECA may convene the C ouncil of Ministers so that it may be apprised of 
and approve the measures adopted.  ARTICLE 36.  (Suspension of the investigation)   On the proposal of the investigating authority, the 
Minister or Secretary may suspend a provisional m easure that has been adopted and terminate the 
investigation at any stage, when there are sufficient grounds for doing so.  In that case, the Minister or 
Secretary shall issue the corresponding resolution, wh ich shall be notified to the interested parties 
within ten days of its publication.   G/SG/N/1/GTM/3 
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  ARTICLE 37.  (Review of the measure)   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 provisions of the Agreement.  ARTICLE 38.  (Publication)   Resolutions in respect of the initiation of an investigation and the 
application of provisional safeguard measures and th e final resolution shall be published once only, at 
the cost of the interested party, in one of the daily newspapers with natio nal circulation, at the 
discretion of the investigating authority, and in the Official Journal of the relevant State Party and, 
when being put into force, in the Official Jour nal of the Central American Integration System. 
 
ARTICLE 39.  (Remedies)  The remedies provided for in the domestic legislation of each State Party 
shall lie against resolutions issued by national authorities.  ARTICLE 40.  (Safeguard measures against a developing country)   Safeguard measures against a 
product originating in a developing country sha ll be imposed only in conformity with the 
requirements and conditions of the Agreement. 
  
CHAPTER III 
 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
 
 ARTICLE 41.  (Amendments to the Regulations)   The Council of Ministers has responsibility for 
amending the provisions of these Regulations at the request of the States Parties or SIECA.  
 Each State Party shall submit a semi-annual report to the Executive Committee for Economic 
Integration, through SIECA, on the implementation of this instrument.  ARTICLE 42.  (Calculation of time-limits)   Unless otherwise specified, the time-limits established 
in these Regulations shall be calculated in calendar days.  Where the time-limit falls on a non-working 
day it shall be extended to the following working day. 
 
ARTICLE 43.  (Notifications)   As required by these Regulations and the Agreement on Safeguards, 
the investigating authority shall notify procedural ac tions to interested parties having information in 
the record and shall continue to do so unless a party requests to be excluded from the process. 
 
 Where in the course of the investigation process the investigating authority is apprised, either 
ex officio or at the request of a party, of a new inte rested party, it shall invite that party to participate 
in the current stage of the proceedings.   Notifications from the investigating authority to the interested parties may be sent directly by 
fax, electronic mail, courier, or any other co mmunication medium as may allow confirmation of 
receipt. 
 ARTICLE 44.  (Suppletive application)   In cases not covered by these Regulations, States Parties 
may apply on a supplementary basis the provisions a nd principles of Central American integration, 
the provisions of public international law, and the general principles of law. 
 
ARTICLE 45.  (Epigraphs)   The epigraphs preceding the Articles of these Regulations are 
exclusively indicative and therefore ha ve no effect on their interpretation. 
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  ARTICLE 46.  (Repeal clause)   Upon the entry into force of these Regulations, the Central 
American Regulations on Safeguard Measures adopted by Resolution No. 19-96 (COMRIEDRE IV) of 22 May 1996, as well as any other prior provision  inconsistent with these Regulations, shall be 
repealed.  
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