General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

Section D

22. A contracting party coming within the scope of sub-paragraph 4 (b) of
this Article desiring, in the interest of the development of its economy,
to introduce a measure of the type described in paragraph 13 of this
Article in respect of the establishment of a particular industry may
apply to the CONTRACTING PARTIES for approval of such measure. The
CONTRACTING PARTIES shall promptly consult with such contracting party
and shall, in making their decision, be guided by the considerations set
out in paragraph 16. If the CONTRACTING PARTIES concur in the proposed
measure the contracting party concerned shall be released from its
obligations under the relevant provisions of the other Articles of this
Agreement to the extent necessary to permit it to apply the measure. If
the proposed measure affects a product which is the subject of a
concession included in the appropriate Schedule annexed to this
Agreement, the provisions of paragraph 18 shall apply.

23. Any measure applied under this Section shall comply with the
provisions of paragraph 20 of this Article.

Article XIX
Emergency Action on Imports of Particular Products

1. (a) If, as a result of unforeseen developments and of the effect of
the obligations incurred by a contracting party under this Agreement,
including tariff concessions, any product is being imported into the
territory of that contracting party in such increased quantities and
under such conditions as to cause or threaten serious injury to domestic
producers in that territory of like or directly competitive products, the
contracting party shall be free, in respect of such product, and to the
extent and for such time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy such
injury, to suspend the obligation in whole or in part or to withdraw or
modify the concession.

(b) If any product, which is the subject of a concession with respect
to a preference, is being imported into the territory of a contracting
party in the circumstances set forth in sub-paragraph (a) of this
paragraph, so as to cause or threaten serious injury to domestic
producers of like or directly competitive products in the territory of a
contracting party which receives or received such preference, the
importing contracting party shall be free, if that other contracting
party so requests, to suspend the relevant obligation in whole or in part
or to withdraw or modify the concession in respect of the product, to the
extent and for such time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy such
injury.

2. Before any contracting party shall take action pursuant to the
provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall give notice in
writing to the CONTRACTING PARTIES as far in advance as may be
practicable and shall afford the CONTRACTING PARTIES and those
contracting parties having a substantial interest as exporters of the
product concerned an opportunity to consult with it in respect of the
proposed action. When such notice is given in relation to a concession
with respect to a preference, the notice shall name the contracting party
which has requested the action. In critical circumstances, where delay
would cause damage which it would be difficult to repair, action under
paragraph 1 of this Article may be taken provisionally without prior
consultation, on the condition that consultation shall be effected
immediately after taking such action.

3. (a) If agreement among the interested contracting parties with respect
to the action is not reached, the contracting party which proposes to
take or continue the action shall, nevertheless, be free to do so, and if
such action is taken or continued, the affected contracting parties shall
then be free, not later than ninety days after such action is taken, to
suspend, upon the expiration of thirty days from the day on which written
notice of such suspension is received by the CONTRACTING PARTIES, the
application to the trade of the contracting party taking such action, or,
in the case envisaged in paragraph 1 (b) of this Article, to the trade of
the contracting party requesting such action, of such substantially
equivalent concessions or other obligations under this Agreement the
suspension of which the CONTRACTING PARTIES do not disapprove.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of this
paragraph, where action is taken under paragraph 2 of this Article
without prior consultation and causes or threatens serious injury in the
territory of a contracting party to the domestic producers of products
affected by the action, that contracting party shall, where delay would
cause damage difficult to repair, be free to suspend, upon the taking of
the action and throughout the period of consultation, such concessions or
other obligations as may be necessary to prevent or remedy the injury.

Article XX
General Exceptions

Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner
which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable
discrimination between countries where the same conditions prevail, or a
disguised restriction on international trade, nothing in this Agreement
shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement by any
contracting party of measures:

(a) necessary to protect public morals;

(b) necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health;

(c) relating to the importation or exportation of gold or silver;

(d) necessary to secure compliance with laws or regulations which are
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, including
those relating to customs enforcement, the enforcement of
monopolies operated under paragraph 4 of Article II and Article
XVII, the protection of Patents , trade marks and copyrights, and
the prevention of deceptive practices;

(e) relating to the products of prison labour;

(f) imposed for the protection of national treasures of artistic,
historic or archaeological value;

(g) relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources if
such measures are made effective in conjunction with restrictions
on domestic production or consumption;

(h) undertaken in pursuance of obligations under any intergovernmental
commodity agreement which conforms to criteria submitted to the
CONTRACTING PARTIES and not disapproved by them or which is itself
so submitted and not so disapproved;

(i) involving restrictions on exports of domestic materials necessary
to ensure essential quantities of such materials to a domestic
processing industry during periods when the domestic price of such
materials is held below the world price as part of a governmental
stabilization plan; Provided that such restrictions shall not
operate to increase the exports of or the protection afforded to
such domestic industry, and shall not depart from the provisions of
this Agreement relating to non-discrimination;

(j) essential to the acquisition or distribution of products in general
or local short supply; Provided that any such measures shall be
consistent with the principle that all contracting parties are
entitled to an equitable share of the international supply of such
products, and that any such measures, which are inconsistent with
the Other provisions of this Agreement shall be discontinued as
soon as the . conditions giving rise to them have ceased to exist.
The CONTRACTING PARTIES shall review the need for this
sub-paragraph not later than 30 June 1960.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Other provisions, Patents.