·
South
Africa has notified the WTO of the initiation of a safeguard investigation
into imports of A3 and A4
office paper classified under tariff subheadings 4802.56.20 and 4802.56.90.
·
The
investigation was officially initiated on 5 June 2026 through Government Gazette
Notice No. 3968 of 2026.
·
The
application was filed by Mondi
South Africa (Pty) Ltd, the major producer of the product in
the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), with support from Sappi Southern Africa Limited.
·
The
domestic industry alleges that imports have increased sharply in both:
o Absolute terms, and
o Relative to SACU production,
causing serious injury to local producers.
·
The
investigating authority found prima facie evidence of a sharp, sudden, recent, and significant
increase in imports during 2023–2024.
The applicants argue that increased
imports resulted from:
·
Global
decline in uncoated fine paper demand due to digitization and the impact of COVID-19.
·
Persistent
global overcapacity, leading producers to divert surplus output to markets such
as South Africa.
·
South
Africa's WTO commitments, including tariff bindings and market-access
obligations, which facilitated increased imports.
South Africa's commitments under the WTO
framework include:
·
Binding
tariffs on printing and writing paper at a ceiling of 20%.
·
Rationalization
and reduction of tariff protection.
·
Elimination
of quantitative import restrictions.
The
applicants contend that these commitments limited the country's ability to
respond to import surges through higher tariffs.
The domestic industry claims declines in:
·
Sales
·
Output
·
Net
profit
·
Market
share
·
Capacity
utilization
·
Employment
The
Commission concluded that there is prima facie evidence suggesting a causal
link between the surge in imports and the serious injury suffered by the SACU
industry.
·
This
is a safeguard action under the WTO Agreement on Safeguards aimed at
determining whether temporary import restrictions are needed to protect the
domestic paper industry.
·
The
case illustrates how countries may invoke safeguard measures when import surges
allegedly cause serious injury to domestic producers, even when imports comply
with WTO market-access commitments.
[ABS News Service/11.06.2026]
On
8 June 2026, South Africa notified the WTO's Committee on Safeguards regarding the
initiation on 5 June 2026 of a safeguard investigation on A3 and A4 office paper
imported into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
In
the notification South Africa indicated, among other things, as follows:
"
Interested parties must make themselves known within a period of 20 days after the
initiation of the investigation.
Any
information that the interested parties may wish to submit in writing and any request
for a hearing before the Commission that they may wish to put forward should be
submitted within 20 days following the initiation of this investigation to the Directorate:
Trade Remedies I at the following address: The DTI Campus, 77 Meintjies Street,
Sunnyside Pretoria, Block Uuzaji, Ground Floor, or alternatively the following email
addresses can be used: Bmakakola@itac.org.za, Emanamela@itac.org.za or Vsotha@itac.org.za
If
part of the information provided is of a confidential nature, the party concerned
should give the grounds justifying confidentiality and furnish public summaries
of such information, which should be as detailed as possible. In instances that
a public summary cannot be provided a sworn statement must be provided stating the
reasons why the information cannot be summarized. This requirement is designed to
secure transparency and due access by all parties to the information relating to
this investigation. If the summaries are not duly provided and in the absence of
just cause, ITAC may disregard the information deemed to be confidential."
The
notification is available in G/SG/N/6/ZAF/13.
What is a safeguard investigation?
A
safeguard investigation seeks to determine whether increased imports of a product
are causing, or are threatening to cause, serious injury to a domestic industry.
During
a safeguard investigation, importers, exporters and other interested parties may
present evidence and views and respond to the presentations of other parties.
A
WTO member may take a safeguard action (i.e. restrict imports of a product temporarily)
only if the increased imports of the product are found to be causing, or threatening
to cause, serious injury.