WTO members review, and note increasing resort to, safeguard actions
At its regular meeting on 26 October, the WTO Committee on Safeguards reviewed safeguard actions covering 39 products, 11 of which were steel/metal products. Several members expressed their views on the actions of the…
This note has been prepared by the WTO Secretariat to assist public understanding about the work of the WTO's councils, committees and other bodies. It is not intended as a complete account of all issues raised at the meeting. These can be found in the formal meeting minutes.
The Committee reviewed notifications of new or amended national safeguard legislation or regulations from Comoros, Malawi and Tajikistan and continued its review of legislative notifications from Liberia and the Solomon Islands.
Switzerland and Japan commented on the growing use of safeguard measures. Switzerland noted that the agenda contained 48 agenda items relating to safeguard actions, a record for the Committee.
Referring to the expiry of the EU's steel safeguard measure and subsequent modification of its tariff concessions regarding certain steel products in July 2026, Japan was concerned that the EU's modification appeared to be intended to maintain restrictions equivalent to the expired safeguard measure. Japan and Indonesia questioned the consistency of the EU's approach with the Agreement on Safeguards. China and Australia also expressed concerns regarding the restrictiveness of the measure. The EU responded that its new measure did not constitute a safeguard measure.
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