Safeguards System "unforeseen Developments" Problem

Safeguards measures, emergency import restrictions to remedy or prevent serious injury to domestic industry, are significant in world trade today since they allow Members to apply restrictions on imports unilaterally regardless of their binding import concession. So Safeguards have strict conditions to be applied as an emergency remedy measure on imports particular products. However, "Unforeseen developments" clause under article 19 of GATT1994 has not been included within the provisions of the Agreement on Safeguards. Therefore, there are positive and negative claims about the application of conditions of Safeguards. WTO has tended to apply the positive claim in recent cases, applying the "Unforeseen development" clause effectively. "Unforeseen developments" are developments occurring after the negotiations of the relevant tariff concession which it would not be reasonable to expect that the negotiations of the country making the concession could and should have foreseen at the time when the concession was negotiated. Safeguard measures constitute "emergency action" and are only to be imposed when the alleged increase in imports arises out of "Unforeseen developments".The first part of this essay is a summary for "Unforeseen developments". First, the author attributes the bringing up of the applying problem of "Unforeseen development" to the different stipulations of WTO agreements; then details the formation process of"Unforeseen development" in jurisprudence and international legislation; at last, analyses the concept of "Unforeseen development" in meaning and grammar, and indicates the relationship of this issue with other condition of Safeguards measures.The second part analyses the position of "Unforeseen development" in Safeguards measures. The most important problem relating to the "Unforeseen development" lies in the complex association between article 19 GATT1994 and Agreement on Safeguards. Through study of these two legal documents and the analysis to legal interpretation by DSB as well as the law applying principle in WTO, the author draw a conclusion that "Unforeseen development" shall deemed as a condition of applying Safeguards measures.