NAFTA: Treaty

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Emergency Action

Article 801: Bilateral Actions
1. Subject to paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 and Annex 801, and during the transition period only, if a good originating in the territory of a Party, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a duty provided for in this Agreement, is being imported into the territory of another Party in such increased quantities, in absolute terms, and under such conditions so that the imports of such good from that Party alone constitute a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive good, the Party into whose territory the good is being imported may, to the minimum extent necessary to remedy or prevent the injury:
(a) suspend the further reduction of any rate of duty provided for under this Agreement on such good;
(b) increase the rate of duty on such good to a level not to exceed the lesser of
(i) the most-favored-nation (MFN) applied rate of duty in effect at the time the action is taken, or
(ii) the MFN applied rate of duty in effect on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement; or
(c) in the case of a duty applied to a good on a seasonal basis, increase the rate of duty to a level not to exceed the MFN applied rate of duty that was in effect on such good for the corresponding season immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. The following conditions and limitations shall apply to a proceeding that may result in emergency action under paragraph 1:
(a) a Party shall, without delay, deliver to any Party that may be affected written notice of, and a request for consultations regarding, the institution of a proceeding that could result in emergency action against a good originating in the territory of a Party;
(b) any such action shall commence not later than one year from the date of institution of the proceeding;
(c) no action shall be maintained
(i) for a period exceeding three years, except where the good against which the action is taken is provided for in the items in staging category C+ of the Tariff Schedule of the Party taking the action, and that Party determines that the affected industry has undertaken adjustment and requires an extension of the period of relief, in which case the period of relief may be extended for one year provided that the duty applied during the initial period of relief is substantially reduced at the commencement of the extension period, or
(ii) beyond the expiration of the transition period, except with the consent of the Party against whose good the action is taken;
(d) no action shall be taken by a Party against any particular good originating in the territory of another Party more than once during the transition period; and
(e) upon the termination of the action, the rate of duty shall be the rate that, according to the original Schedule for the staged elimination of the tariff, would have been in effect a year after the commencement of the action, and commencing January 1 of the year following the termination of the action, at the option of the Party that has taken the action
(i) the rate of duty shall conform to the schedule in the Tariff Schedule of the Party, or
(ii) the tariff shall be eliminated in equal annual stages ending on the date set forth in the Tariff Schedule of the Party for the elimination of the tariff.
3. A Party may take a bilateral emergency action after the expiration of the transition period to deal with cases of serious injury, or threat thereof, to a domestic industry arising from the operation of this Agreement only with the consent of the Party against whose good the action would be taken.
4. The Party taking an action pursuant to this Article shall provide to the Party against whose good the action is taken mutually agreed trade liberalizing compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects to the other Party, or equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to result from the action. If the Parties are unable to agree upon compensation, the Party against whose good the action is taken may take tariff action having trade effects substantially equivalent to the action taken under paragraph 1. The Party taking such tariff action shall apply the action only for the minimum period necessary to achieve such substantially equivalent effects.
5. This Article does not apply to emergency actions respecting goods covered by Annex 300-B (Textile and Apparel Goods).
Article 802: Global Actions
1. Each Party shall retain its rights and obligations under Article XIX of the GATT or any safeguard agreement pursuant thereto except those regarding compensation or retaliation and exclusion from an action to the extent that such