Article XIX. Emergency Action On Imports Of Particular Products

Abstract

This chapter briefly discusses the Article XIX: Emergency Action on Imports of Particular Products. Article XIX General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides-similar to Art. XX GATT concerning general exceptions and Art. XXI GATT concerning security exceptions-for yet another exception in times of economic emergencies. Its historic predecessor is the so-called escape clause of the US Reciprocal Trade Agreement with Mexico, dating from 1942. The provision is inextricably linked with the Agreement on Safeguards, which establishes rules for the application of safeguard measures. This raises the question of whether the Agreement on Safeguards is a new set of rules on safeguards, designed to replace Art. Both Art. XIX GATT as well as the Agreement on Safeguards are integral parts of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement and apply in a cumulative fashion. Keywords: article XIX; economic emergencies; emergency action; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; US Reciprocal Trade Agreement; World Trade Organization (WTO)