This Working Paper focuses on the first safeguard investigation initiated by South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) on 11 May 2007. ITAC imposed a provisional safeguard measure of 160 per cent on the same date.

The Working Paper considers the requirements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Safeguards, the International Trade Administration Act, 71 of 2002 (the ITA Act), South Africa’s Safeguard Regulations (SGR), and the requirements of administrative fairness as contained in the Constitution Act, 108 of 1996 (the Constitution Act), and in the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 3 of 2000 (PAJA). The Working Paper the overviews the facts applicable in the specific investigation and concludes that a safeguard measure may have been used where an anti-dumping measure would have been the more appropriate measure to apply. It is finally shown that ITAC’s procedure in this investigation may lead to a significant increase in safeguard applications with a commensurate decrease in anti-dumping applications.

Paragraph 2 of the Working Paper provides a background to safeguards and the specific application. In Paragraph 3 the legal basis will be properly analysed, while Paragraph 4 will set out the procedures followed by ITAC and compare this to the legal requirements. Paragraph 5 considers the lessons to be drawn from ITAC’s first safeguard investigation before final conclusions are made in Paragraph 6.