Steel
Trade Wars Debated in WTO, US Claims Actions Based on National Security under
Article XXI of GATT
At a meeting on 27 April, the WTO Committee
on Safeguards reviewed safeguard actions covering 38 products, 12 of which were
steel/metal products. These actions were notified by members since the Committee's
last meeting in October 2025. Several members expressed their views on the European
Union's and the United Kingdom's actions concerning steel products. The EU investigation
on grain-oriented electrical steel and measure on ferro-alloying elements also generated
interventions by several members. The outgoing Chair, Ms Milagros Miranda Rojas
(Peru), thanked members for their participation in the Committee.
·
Committee meeting (27 April 2026): WTO Committee on Safeguards reviewed 38
safeguard actions, including 12 related to steel/metal products.
·
Key contributors: Actions notified by 19 members, with Indonesia (7 cases) and Madagascar,
Philippines, and Türkiye (4 each) accounting for nearly half.
o European Union measures on ferro-alloying
elements and investigation on grain-oriented electrical steel drew multiple
interventions
o United Kingdom adjustments to steel tariff-rate
quotas (TRQs) faced scrutiny
o Egypt investigations on iron and steel also
questioned
·
US trade measures dispute:
o United States argued its tariffs fall under
GATT Article XXI (national security exception), not safeguard measures
o India disagreed, stating measures resemble
safeguards
o Brazil and China raised concerns over global
trade and supply chain impacts
·
Legislative notifications reviewed: Updates from Botswana, and ongoing
reviews of Liberia and Solomon Islands safeguard laws.
·
Digital progress:
o WTOs online safeguard notification portal
gaining traction
o 22 members registered; 20+ notifications
submitted via the system
·
Chairs remarks: Outgoing Chair Milagros Miranda Rojas thanked members for active engagement.
·
Next meeting: Scheduled for week of 26 October 2026.
·
Key takeaway: Rising use of safeguard measuresespecially in steel tradeis increasing
scrutiny and debate, with broader implications for global trade stability and
WTO rules interpretation.
[ABS News Service/30.04.2026]
The Committee reviewed notifications
of new national safeguard legislation and regulations from Botswana. It also continued
its review of legislative notifications from Liberia and the Solomon Islands.
The Committee reviewed 19 members'
notifications of safeguard actions, with those taken by Indonesia (seven), Madagascar,
the Philippines and Türkiye (four each) accounting for almost 50 per cent of all
the safeguard actions reviewed.
Among the actions that attracted
the most interventions were: Egypt's three
investigations on iron and steel products, with four members raising concerns;
the European Union's measure on certain ferro-alloying elements, with five members
raising concerns; the European Union's investigation on grain-oriented electrical
steel, with five members raising concerns; and the United Kingdom's adjustment of
tariff rate quotas (TRQs) applied under its measure on certain steel products, with
six members making interventions.
Referring to various requests
for consultations and proposals to suspend concessions or other obligations previously
notified by members to the Committee on Safeguards, the United States explained
that it did not consider the tariffs imposed by the US President referenced in these
notifications to be safeguard actions. According to the United States, these actions
were maintained pursuant to the essential security exception in Article XXI of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. The United States considered
that no basis existed, therefore, for these members to request consultations or
propose the suspension of concessions under the Safeguards Agreement with respect
to the US measures.
India disagreed with the US characterization
of its measures and asserted that based on their characteristics they appeared to
be within the scope of the Agreement on Safeguards. Brazil and China expressed concern
about the broader implications of the US measures for the multilateral trading system
and global supply chains. Brazil and India said that they would continue to closely
monitor developments concerning these measures.
The Chair provided an update
regarding the online portal for the submission of safeguard notifications. Twenty-two
members have registered to receive access, doubling the number registered at the
previous meeting. Members are increasingly relying on the portal to submit notifications
of safeguard actions, with more than 20 notifications submitted through the portal
since the tool's introduction.
The next meeting of the Committee
on Safeguards is scheduled for the week of 26 October 2026.
Under the WTO rules, a member
may apply measures to imports of a product temporarily (take "safeguard"
actions) through higher tariffs or other measures if it determines through an investigation
that increased imports of a product are causing or threatening to cause serious
injury to its domestic industry. Unlike anti-dumping duties, safeguard measures
cover imports from all sources, although imports from developing country members
with a small share of imports are exempted through special and differential treatment
provisions.