The World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Safeguards recently reviewed notifications from several member countries regarding changes to their national safeguard legislation and actions. The committee, led by Chair Ms Milagros Miranda Rojas of Peru, considered new or amended safeguard regulations from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam, while continuing its review of legislative notifications from Liberia and the Solomon Islands.
Notifications of safeguard actions were submitted by 14 members—two developed and 12 developing countries. Indonesia, Türkiye, and Madagascar accounted for nearly half of all safeguard actions discussed at the meeting.
Several measures drew significant attention. The European Union's modification of its 2019 safeguard measure on certain steel products prompted concerns from eight members. Similarly, the United Kingdom's review of its own 2019 steel safeguard attracted interventions from seven members, as did Egypt's investigations into iron and steel products.
In response to requests for consultations notified by the EU and India, as well as proposed suspensions of concessions or obligations by the EU, Japan, India, and the UK, a US representative explained: "the US did not consider the tariffs imposed by the US President referenced in these notifications to be safeguard actions." The US stated that these measures were maintained under Article XXI—the essential security exception—of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. "The US considered that no basis existed...for these members to request consultations or propose the suspension of concessions under the Safeguards Agreement with respect to the US measures."
Representatives from China, India, Japan, and the UK disagreed with this assessment. They argued that based on their characteristics, these measures appeared to be covered by Article XIX of GATT 1994 and therefore subject to WTO safeguards rules.
A separate exchange took place between Canada and the UK regarding proposed suspensions of concessions related to Canadian measures. The UK said Canada's actions had characteristics typical of safeguards. In response, Canada stated: "its measures were not safeguards" but expressed willingness to continue bilateral discussions.
The committee was also updated on a new online portal for submitting safeguard notifications. Eleven members have registered for access so far; two have already used it to submit notifications. The chair encouraged members interested in training on using this portal to contact the WTO Secretariat for tailored sessions.
The next committee meeting is planned for the week beginning April 27, 2026.
Under WTO rules safeguard measures allow a country to temporarily increase tariffs or take other steps if an investigation finds increased imports are causing serious injury or threat thereof to domestic industry. These differ from anti-dumping duties because they apply across all sources unless exemptions apply for developing countries with minor import shares.