China Research, Special Safeguard Measures

When China entered into the World Trade Organization on December 11st,2001, China was considered as a non-market economy country. Some WTO members worried that the violent augment of export commodities from China would impact and damage their domestic markets and industries, so they add the transitional safeguard mechanism for particular products in Article 16 of Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China, and detailed regulations of Paragraphs 245 to 250 of "China's Entry Workgroup Report". Quite many states have enacted corresponding domestic legislations according these provisions, and implement them in practice. Because China economy has developed rapidly, they begin to use the Transitional Product-specific Safeguard Mechanism to Chinese products'massive imports frequently (although the measures were not been implemented except special protectionist tariff on tire), which is very disadvantageous to our export trade.Just on this background, the article expounds the background of special safeguard measures firstly, and analyzes the features and conditions of special safeguard measures comparing with safeguard measures. According to the relations between special safeguard measures and basic principles of WTO, the author thinks the measures are not reasonable and puts forward some solutions in law, hoping helpful to practice. The article consists of four parts:the first part expounds the background and feature of special safeguard measures; and the second part introduces the substantive and procedural conditions. Market disruption and significant diversion of trade consist of the substantive conditions, and procedural conditions include four parts:investigation, consultation, announcement and hearing and notice. According to the basic stipulations of special safeguard measures, the third part analyzes the relations of special safeguard measures and the principles of WTO, and concludes that special safeguard measures deviate from these principles of WTO:non-discrimination principle, free trade principle, fair competition principle and preferential treatment to the developing countries principle. The last part puts forward four legal resolutions for special safeguard measures:establishing early warning mechanism; perfecting national laws in special safeguard measures; actively involving in the investigation and the consultation; resorting to the DSB in time.