Safeguards

Abstract

What do Argentine shoes, Indian tire rubber, Korean garlic and American wheat gluten have in common? Although some are final consumer goods while others are intermediate inputs and they differ in terms of their market structures, production technologies, cost structures, and capital intensities, they share a common situation in the WTO trading system. All were temporarily shielded from foreign competitors by measures under the WTO’s Agreement on Safeguards. Table 1 describes the countries that have most frequently implemented safeguard measures under the GATT and WTO regimes.