Decisions of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization United States - Definitive Safeguard Measures on Imports of Circular Welded Carbon Quality Line Pipe from Korea Download the Complete Survey (PDF Format) * Full Text of the WTO Appellate Body Report (PDF Format) ** WTO Appellate Body Report: United States - Definitive Safeguard Measures on Imports of Circular Welded Carbon Quality Line Pipe from Korea, AB-2001-9 WT/DS202/AB/R, adopted by Dispute Settlement Body, 8 March 2002. United States, Appellant/Appellee; Korea, Appellant/Appellee. Australia, Canada, European Communities, Japan, Mexico, Third Participants. Division: Lacarte-Muró, Abi-Saab, Bacchus. Major Topics addressed by Appellate Body: Discrete Determination of domestic investigating authority; procedural and substantive obligations of Article 5.1; "parallelism" requirement in Articles 2 and 4; Articles 4.2, 9.1, 12.3 Safeguards Agreement. 1. Abstract In this case, the Appellate Body addressed several issues relating to safeguards, two of which are of major importance for future cases. First, it found that a domestic trade authority does not have to make a discrete finding as to whether there is either a "serious injury" or a "threat of serious injury" to the domestic industry. Second, the Appellate Body determined that the extent of a safeguard measure under Article 5.1 Safeguards Agreement must be limited to the amount of serious injury that can be attributed to increased imports. Furthermore, in its introductory remarks, the Appellate Body emphasized, as it had stated in Argentina-Footwear, that safeguards measures are extraordinary remedies, and that this fact affects the interpretation of the safeguards provisions of WTO law. The Appellate Body confirmed earlier statements made in US - Wheat Gluten regarding the obligation to provide an opportunity for prior consultations under Article 12.3 Safeguards Agreement and the "parallelism" between the investigation and the application of a safeguard measure. Following its findings in US - Lamb, the Appellate Body confirmed that the domestic authority has to distinguish all relevant factors which cause injury to the domestic industry under Article 4.2 (b) Safeguards Agreement. Finally, Article 9.1 was found not to require an explicit exclusion for de minimis imports from developing countries. * The free viewer (Acrobat Reader) for PDF file is available at the Adobe Systems ** provided by WorldTradeLaw.net
	© 1990-2004 European Journal of International Law All comments and suggestions should be sent to webmaster This site is part of the Academy of European Law online, a joint partnership of the Jean Monnet Center at NYU School of Law and the Academy of European Law at the European University Institute. This file was last modified: Sunday, February 09, 2003 10:10PM