NAFTA: Treaty

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