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Summaries of EU Legislation

Combining various types of trade defence measures

 

SUMMARY OF:

Fair EU safeguard measures when combined with anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures — Regulation (EU) 2015/477

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It enables the European Commission to adopt safeguard measures* to protect European Union (EU) industry from unfair competition caused by a sudden and unforeseen increase in imports.

KEY POINTS

  • Safeguard measures aim to give EU industry a temporary breathing space to make necessary adjustments.
  • Unlike anti-dumping* and anti-subsidy measures*, safeguard measures do not focus on whether trade is ‘fair’ or not, so the conditions for imposing them are more stringent.
  • The EU has to show that the increase in imports is:
    • sharp,
    • due to unforeseen developments,
    • causing (or threatening) serious injury to EU industry, and
    • that safeguards are in the interest of the EU.
  • Safeguards apply to all imports of the relevant product from all countries.
  • The Commission may adopt the following safeguard measures:
    • measures to amend, suspend or repeal existing anti-dumping and/or anti-subsidy measures,
    • measures to exempt imports in whole or in part from anti-dumping or countervailing duties* which would otherwise be payable,
    • any other special measures such as import or tariff quotas on imports, considered appropriate in the circumstances.
  • Any amendment, suspension or exemption must be limited in time and apply only when the relevant safeguard measures are in force.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

Regulation (EU) 2015/477 is the codified version of an original act (Regulation (EC) No 452/2003), and its subsequent amendments. It has applied since 16 April 2015.

* KEY TERMS

Anti-dumping measures: measures, e.g. specific duties, applied to imports into the EU of ‘dumped products’, i.e. products exported to the EU at a lower price than the domestic price, and that cause injury to the EU industry.

Anti-subsidy measures: measures, e.g. countervailing duties, imposed by the EU on imports that are subsidised and thus injure EU industry producing the like (a similar) product.

Safeguard measures: measures introduced when the Commission concludes that imports of a certain product have increased to the extent that they cause (or threaten) serious harm to EU producers. They are temporary measures (e.g. import or tariff quotas) applied to imports in order to offer EU producers the time to make any necessary structural adjustments.

Countervailing duties: duties levied on goods which have received government subsidies in the originating or exporting country, thus enabling the goods to be imported into the EU at prices substantially lower than their normal commercial value.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2015/477 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 on measures that the Union may take in relation to the combined effect of anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures with safeguard measures (codification) (OJ L 83, 27.3.2015, pp. 11-15)

last update 01.03.2017

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