UNITED STATES – SAFEGUARD MEASURE ON IMPORTS OF LARGE RESIDENTIAL WASHERS REQUEST FOR CONSULTATIONS BY THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Document: REQUEST FOR CONSULTATIONS BY
Date: 16 May 2018
Document codes: WT/DS546/1; G/L/1235; G/SG/D52/1
Complainant: South Korea
Respondent: U.S.
Third parties: Brazil, China, EU, Egypt, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. XIX:1  GATT 1994Art. 1, 3.1, 2.1, 4.1(c), 4.2, 4.1, 4.2(a), 4.2(b), 3.2, 4.2(c), 5.1, 7.4, 7.1, 8.1, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3  SafeguardsArt. II:1  GATT 1994

UNITED STATES – SAFEGUARD MEASURE ON IMPORTS OF
LARGE RESIDENTIAL WASHERS
REQUEST FOR CONSULTATIONS BY THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
The following communication, dated 14 May 2018, from the delegation of the Republic of Korea to
the delegation of the United States and to the Chairperson of the Dispute Settlement Body, is
circulated in accordance with Article 4.4 of the DSU.

Korea ( "Korea"), I hereby r equest consultations with the Government of the United States of
America ( "United States ") pursuant to Articles 1 and 4 of the Understanding on Rules and
Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes ("DSU"), Article XXII:1 of the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 ("GATT 1994 "), and Article 14 of the Agreement on
Safeguards, regarding the definitive safeguard measure imposed by the United States on imports
of large residential washers.
2. The United States imposed the definitive safeguard measure on imports of large residential
washers pursuant to "Proclamation 9694 of January 23, 2018 - To Facilitate Positive Adjustment to
Competition from Imports of Large Residential Washers" (83 FR 3553).1
3. This request also concerns any modification, review, re placement or amendment to the
definitive safeguard measure on large residential washers, including any closely connected,
subsequent measures to determine the form and amount of safeguard remedy, as well as the
underlying reports, memoranda and other documents supporting the safeguard measure.
4. Korea notes that according to Article 11.1(a) of the Agreement on Safeguards, a Member shall
not take or seek any emergency action on imports of particular products as set forth in Article XIX
of the GATT 1994 unless such action conforms with the provisions of that Article applied in
accordance with the Agreement on Safeguards. In this respect, Korea is concerned that the
safeguard measure is inconsistent with the obligations of the United States under the GATT 1994
and the Agreement on Safeguards. In particular, Korea considers that the safeguard measure
imposed by the United States on large residential washers fails to comply with, but not limited to,
the following provisions:
a. Article XIX:1(a) of the GATT 1994 and A rticles 1 and 3.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards
because the United States failed to make a determination regarding (i) the existence of
unforeseen developments resulting in increased imports and (ii) the effect of the
obligations incurred under the GATT 1994;
b. Articles 2.1 and 3.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards since the United States failed to
properly make a determination , including a reasoned and adequate explanation that the

1 The safeguard measure on large residential washers is based on the USITC determination of injury on
5 October 2017 and the report to the President on 4 December 2017 regarding the Investigation No.TA-201-
076. See, Public Report, Large Residential Washers, Inv. No. TA-201-076, USITC Pub. 4745 (Dec. 2017), a
summary of which was published on 8 December 2017 in the U.S. Federal Register under citation "82 FR
58026".
WT/DS546/1 • G/L/1235 • G/SG/D52/1

subject imports increased "in such quantities and under such conditions " to cause serious
injury to the domestic industry;
c. Articles 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 and 4.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards as the United States failed
to make a proper determination and to provide a reasoned and adequate explanation of a
significant overall impairment i n the position of the domestic industry to support its
conclusion that the domestic industry was suffering "serious injury or threat of serious
injury", including with respect to all products covered by the measure;
d. Articles 2.1, 3.1 and 4.2 of the Agreeme nt on Safeguards because the safeguard measure
is not supported by a reasoned and adequate explanation of how the subject imports
"cause or threaten to caus e" serious injury to the domestic industry , and because the
United States failed to properly conduct a non-attribution analysis to separate and
distinguish the effects of "other factors" causing or threatening to cause injury;
e. Articles 2.1, 3.1, 4.1(c) and 4.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards since the United States
did not properly define the scope of the investigation and the domestic industry by failing
to limit the scope of the domestic industry to only those producers producing the "like or
directly competitive products " to the subject imports and by including in the examination
of injury to the domestic industry products that were expressly excluded from the scope of
the investigation;
f. Articles 2.1, 2.2, and 4.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards because the United States failed
to respect the requirement of parallelism between the scope of the investigat ion and the
scope of the safeguard measure;
g. Articles 3.1 and 3.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards since the United States did not
provide the interested parties with sufficient opportunities to participate, including as a
result of the failure to respect the requirements on granting confidential treatment and the
availability of sufficiently informative non -confidential summaries, as well as the United
States' failure to set forth in the published report the findings and reasoned conclusions on
all pertinent issues of fact and law, including the conditions on which the measure w as
imposed, the nature and level of the actual measure , and a ground for excluding certain
sources;
h. Articles 5.1 and 7.4 of the Agreement on Safeguards as a result of the United States '
failure to grant relief only to the "extent necessary" and to limit that relief to serious injury
caused by increased imports at the time of imposition of the measur e as well as at the
stages of progressive liberalization;
i. Article 7.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards because the United States failed to grant relief
only "for such period of time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and
to facilitate adjustment";
j. Article 8.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards to the extent that the United States fail ed to
endeavor to maintain a substantially equivalent level of concessions and other obligations
under the GATT 1994 between the United States and Korea in accordance with Article 12.3
of the Agreement on Safeguards;
k. Articles 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3 of the Agreement on Safeguards since the United States failed
to provide immediate notifications with all pertinent information and failed to provide
Korea with an adequate opportunity to commence prior consultations;
l. Article X:3 of the GATT 1994 because the measure is not based on a uniform, impartial
and reasonable administration of the relevant U.S. laws and regulations;
m. Article I:1 of the GATT 1994 because the safeguard measure discriminates between the
products originating in Korea and the like products originating in other WTO Members; and
n. Article II of the GATT 1994 because the safeguard measure amounts to a withdrawal or
modification of the United States ' concessions without a justification under Article XIX of
the GATT 1994, the Agreement on S afeguards or any other provisions of the WTO
Agreement.
5. In sum, Korea is concerned that the safeguard measure on large residential washers is
inconsistent with the rel evant obligations of the United States under the GATT 1994 and the
Agreement on Safeguards. The United States ' measure appears to nullify or impair the benefits
accruing to Korea directly or indirectly under the above Agreements.
WT/DS546/1 • G/L/1235 • G/SG/D52/1

6. Korea reserves the right to raise additional factual and legal issues, and to address additional
measures and claims regarding the above matter, in the course of the consultations and in any
request for the establishment of a panel.
7. Korea looks forward to receiving the United Sta tes' reply to this request and to determining a
mutually acceptable date and venue for consultations.