RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/SG/W/167
25April 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-1560)
Original: English Committee onSafeguards
QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE NOTIFICATION PROVIDED
BYSOUTH AFRICA1OFLAWS AND REGULATIONS
UNDER ARTICLE 12.6OFAGREEMENT
Thefollowing communication, dated 17April 1996, hasbeenreceived from thePermanent
Mission oftheKorea.
_______________
1. Conditions forapplying Safeguard Measures:
Article 2oftheAgreement onSafeguards allows fortheapplication ofasafeguard measure
under onlysuchconditions astocause orthreaten tocause serious injury tothedomestic
industry.
Article 55oftheCustoms andExcise Act,however, stipulates "...asafeguard dutyinthe
caseofdisruptive competition assodefined ...",andArticle 1oftheBoard onTariffs and
Trade Actdescribes "disruptive competition" as"theexport ...inquantities and under
circumstances which cause ormaycause material injury toestablished industries ...orwhich
mayretard theestablishment ofindustries intheRepublic ...".
Such conditions appear toallow safeguard measures tobeapplied excessively.
What istheexplanation ofSouth Africa onthismatter?
2. Provisional Safeguard Measures:
Article 57AoftheCustoms andExcise ActofSouth Africa stipulates theimposition ofa
provisional payment related toananti-dumping dutyandacountervailing duty. Could this
provision beapplied mutatis mutandis toasafeguard measure?
3. General concerns:
TheSouth African safeguards regulations asawhole seem tobelacking inseveral areas
compared withtheAgreement onSafeguards. Specifically, thefollowing issues, which are
crucial totheimplementation oftheSafeguard regulations, arenever mentioned, orleaveample
room foranarbitrary interpretation.
1G/SG/N/1/ZAF/1.
./.G/SG/W/167
Page2
HowwilltheSouth African authorities dealwiththefollowing technical criteria?
- Duration ofsafeguard measures;
- Extension andreapplication ofsafeguard measures;
- Application ofprovisional safeguard measures.