2019 – part1 – 1 – 6

 South Africa launches safeguard investigation on threaded fasteners of iron or steel

On 4 March 2019, South Africa notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 1 March 2019 a safeguard investigation on threaded fasteners of iron or steel.

In the notification, South Africa indicated, among other things, as follows:

“Interested parties must make themselves known within a period of 20 days after the initiation of the investigation.

Any information which the interested parties may wish to submit in writing and any request for a hearing before the Commission that they may wish to put forward should be submitted within 20 days following the initiation of this investigation to the Directorate: Trade Remedies II at the following address: The DTI Campus, 77 Meintjies Street, Sunnyside Pretoria, Block Uuzaji, Ground Floor, tel: +27 12 394 3600, fax +27 12 394 0518.”

Further information is available in G/SG/N/6/ZAF/7.

What is a safeguard investigation?

A safeguard investigation seeks to determine whether increased imports of a product are causing, or is threatening to cause, serious injury to a domestic industry.

During a safeguard investigation, importers, exporters and other interested parties may present evidence and views and respond to the presentations of other parties.

A WTO member may take a safeguard action (i.e. restrict imports of a product temporarily) only if the increased imports of the product are found to be causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury.

Source: wto.org