Ginebra, Suiza, 22 de octubre del 2012.- En la reunión del Comité de Salvaguardias de 22 de octubre de 2012, los
“Amigos de los Procedimientos de Salvaguardia”, un nuevo grupo de la OMC
integrado por diez delegaciones, expresaron su preocupación por “cuestiones de
procedimiento, transparencia y debidas garantías procesales” en relación con
determinadas investigaciones en materia de salvaguardias.
(de momento sólo en
inglés)
Their joint
statement cited the following “examples of where there appears to be an
emerging and serious disregard of multilateral rules”: imposition of
provisional safeguard measures without clear evidence; lack of rationale and
consistency in the data examined during the investigation; “suspension” of
previously imposed safeguard measures; untimely notifications to the Committee;
and unwarranted safeguard investigations.
The United
States, on behalf of the FSP group (Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan,
Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Chinese Taipei, Singapore
and the United States), said that over the past few years, there have
been improvements in the way members apply safeguard actions without going to
dispute settlement as a result of interventions by concerned delegations in the
Safeguards Committee. However, it said there has been an alarming increase in
safeguard actions in recent years, and members must work together to deal with
systemic concerns about safeguard proceedings.
The other
members of the FSP group reiterated the concerns expressed in the paper. Other
delegations shared the concern of the group about the increasing use of
safeguard measures.
At the end
of the discussion, the US asked that the Committee take up this agenda item
again at the next meeting in spring 2013.
First
notifications from the Russian Federation
Newly-acceded
Russian Federation notified initiation of three safeguard investigations. One
member commended Russia for complying with the requirements of the Safeguards
Agreement in such a short period of time, stating that this was a positive sign
of the seriousness with which Russia takes its trade obligations. Several
members took the floor to comment, including registering their concerns,
regarding these three notifications.
Other
safeguard notifications
In all, the
Committee considered 21 safeguard actions notified by members, including four
from Turkey, and three each from the Russian Federation and Egypt.
The items
discussed were as follows: Brazil — Fine or Table Wine, Chile — Maize Otherwise
Worked, Costa Rica — Pounded Rice, Egypt — Cotton Textile and Mixed Cotton
Textile, Egypt — Cotton Yarn, Egypt — Polypropylene, India — Dioctyl Phthalate (DOP), Indonesia — Wheat Flour, Indonesia — Conveyor Belts Or Belting
Reinforced Only with Metal of a Width 20-230 cm, Jordan — Bars and Rods of Iron And Steel,
Morocco — Certain Bars and Rods of Iron or Steel, Philippines — Testliner Board, Philippines — Steel Angle Bars, Russian
Federation — Combine-Harvesters, Russian Federation — Tableware, Russian Federation — Woven Fabrics of
Man-Made Fibres and Filaments, Turkey —
Footwear, Turkey — Motorcycles, Turkey
— Matches, Turkey — Certain Electrical
Appliances, Ukraine — Casing and
Pump-Compressor Seamless Steel Pipes.
The
Committee re-elected Ms Tomoko Ota (Japan) as vice-chair. It also approved its
2012 report to the Goods Council.
Fuente: OMC