REPORT (2024) OF THE COMMITTEE ON SAFEGUARDS
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS

(ADOPTED ON 28 OCTOBER 2024)

1  GENERAL

1.  The Committee on Safeguards ("Committee") performs the functions set out in Article 13 of the Agreement on Safeguards ("Agreement"). This report is submitted in accordance with Article 13.1(a) of the Agreement, which requires the Committee to report annually to the Council for Trade in Goods ("CTG") on the general implementation of the Agreement. The report covers the period 26 October 2023 – 28 October 2024 ("period under review").

2.  During the period under review, the Committee held two regular meetings on 22 April 2024 (_G/SG/M/64) and on 28 October 2024 (_G/SG/M/65). In addition, the Committee held one informal meeting on 26 September 2024 regarding Indonesia's request made pursuant to Article 13.1 (e) of the Agreement.[1]

3.  Observer governments in the General Council of the WTO have observer status in the Committee. Pursuant to their Agreements with the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank have observer status in the Committee as well. UNCTAD has observer status through a Committee decision. At its regular meetings in 1998, the Committee decided to invite the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the OECD to attend Committee meetings on an ad hoc basis.

4.  As of the beginning of the review period, Mr Eungkil Jeon (Republic of Korea) was Chair of the Committee. On 28 May 2024, the Council for Trade in Goods ("CTG") designated Mr Jun Morikawa (Japan) as Chairperson of the Committee. As per the Committee's decision on 22 April 2024[2], a communication in this respect was sent to the Membership on 29 May 2024 and as no written objection was received, Mr Jun Morikawa was elected as the Chairperson of the Committee on 31 May 2024.

2  notification and examination of safeguards laws and/or regulations of members

5.  Pursuant to Article 12.6 of the Agreement and the decision of the Committee in May 1996, all Members having laws, regulations and administrative procedures relating to safeguard measures are requested to notify the full and integrated texts thereof to the Committee. Changes in a Member's legislation and/or regulations are also to be notified. If a Member has no such legislation or regulations, the Member is to inform the Committee of this fact. The Committee also decided that Observer governments should comply with these notification obligations.

6.  During the period under review, the Committee continued its review of notifications under Article 12.6 of the Agreement concerning national legislations and/or regulations in the area of safeguards. Members that had notified the Committee of their safeguards legislations and/or regulations or made communications in this regard to the Committee are indicated in Annex 1. As of 28 October 2024, 77 Members[3] had notified their legislations, while 48 Members had notified that they had no such legislation. These notifications can be found in document series _G/SG/N/1/…. As of 28 October 2024, 14 Members had not made such a notification. The Chairperson reminded the Committee of the importance of such notifications.

7.  During the period under review, the Committee reviewed new notifications of legislation and/or regulations submitted by the following Members: Cabo Verde, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Solomon Islands, and the United Kingdom. The Committee continued the review of the legislative notifications of the following Members that have been previously reviewed by the Committee: Cameroon and Ghana. In addition, pending written questions posed to the legislative notifications of the following Members remained on the agenda of the April and/or October 2024 meetings: Liberia. Written questions and answers regarding legislative notifications can be found in document series _G/SG/Q1/….

8.  The substance of the review of legislative notifications is reflected in written questions put to Members and written answers to those questions. Written questions and answers regarding legislative notifications can be found in document series _G/SG/Q1/….

3  notifications of actions related to safeguard measures

9.  During the period under review, the Committee received and reviewed a variety of notifications of actions related to safeguard measures. The notifications of initiations, the application of safeguard measures, and the termination of investigations without measures received by the Committee during the period under review are summarized in Annex 2. A record of investigations underway and measures applicable as of 28 October 2024 is set forth in Annex 3.

10.  Members' comments concerning these notifications can be found in the minutes of the meetings at which they were reviewed (_G/SG/M/64 and _G/SG/M/65). Members' written questions and answers concerning these notifications can be found in the _G/SG/Q2/… series.

4  training sessions on the functioning of the committee

11.  As part of the steps agreed on by Members to improve the functioning of the Committee (_G/SG/284), the Secretariat provided, during the review period, two training sessions on 26 March and 23 September 2024 on the functioning of the Committee. The audio/video of the training along with the presentations could be found on the Committee's webpage.

5  VIET NAM - CERTAIN SEMI-FINISHED AND FINISHED PRODUCTS OF ALLOY AND NON‑ALLOY STEEL

12.  At the April 2024 meeting and the October 2024 meeting, Japan raised concerns regarding Viet Nam's safeguard measure on certain semi-finished and finished products of alloy and non-alloy steel. Japan requested Viet Nam to correct the measure as soon as possible.

6  Indonesia - Articles of apparel and clothing accessories

13.  At the April 2024 meeting and the October 2024 meeting, Japan referred to Indonesia's safeguard measure on articles of apparel and clothing accessories. Japan was concerned with Indonesia's new import restriction system, and it was of the view that a safeguard measure on this product was not necessary.

7  Article 13.1 (e) Request by Indonesia

14.  At the October 2024 meeting, the Chair explained that on 11 July 2024 Indonesia submitted a request made pursuant to Article 13.1 (e) of the Agreement, and that an informal meeting of the Committee was held on 26 September on this issue. He then laid out his plan on how to proceed with this issue. Several Members took the floor to describe their views on this matter.

8  DISCUSSION GROUP REGARDING SAFEGUARD PROCEEDINGS

15.  At the April 2024 meeting and the October 2024 meeting, a Member, on behalf of 11 other Members[4], explained that a meeting of an informal discussion group regarding safeguard proceedings would take place after the Committee meeting. While it was not part of the Committee meeting, the discussion was open to all Members. The idea behind this discussion group was to provide a broader perspective than the one in normal Committee meetings, removed from discussions of individual cases, and to focus more on each other's experiences and to learn from each other. The topics for April 2024 were: (i) the safeguard investigative process as a whole; and (ii) virtual/in-person/hybrid - updates and operations and lesson learned. The topics for October 2024 were: (i) determination of duration of a measure, and (ii) mid-term reviews.

9  Other BUSINESS

16.  At the April 2024 meeting, under Other Business: (i) the United States offered observations regarding the reforms made in relation to the functioning of the Committee, and (ii) the Chair updated the Committee regarding the creation of an online portal for the submission of SG Notifications. At the October 2024 meeting, under Other Business: (i) China made a statement pointing out that a Member's safeguard investigation on wire rods was not notified; and (ii) the Chair updated the Members regarding the Secretariat's efforts to create an online Safeguards Notification Portal.

10  dATES OF REgular meetings in 2025

17.  At the October 2024 meeting, as part of the steps agreed on by Members to improve the functioning of the Committee (_G/SG/284), Members set the dates of both regular meetings of 2025.