If you are of a certain age, you might be familiar with the South African English expression used to signify approval or agreement: “Safe, my mate!” The British English equivalent is “Jolly good show!”

Somehow, the latter – well, for me at least – does not quite resonate as much as the first. For younger readers, ‘bra’, ‘brah’, ‘bru’, and ‘boet’ are not equivalent to ‘mate’, and neither are ‘chommie’ and ‘chomma’. That said, I am not sure how widely the last two are still used, and whether they too are generational.

Which brings us to ‘safeguard’. Yes, an ‘f’, not a ‘v’, and a ‘safeguard investigation’, not a ‘safeguard agreement’, although the investigation is initiated based on the agreement on safeguards. Also known as the SG Agreement, it sets forth the rules for applying safeguard measures in accordance with Article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of 1994. A safeguard is a fair-trade remedy. In simple terms, it is a measure imposed on goods that are not dumped in a market but are traded at a fair price, unlike measures imposed on dumped goods (antidumping and countervailing measures, the latter addressing subsidised goods).

In the words of the World Trade Organisation (WTO): “A safeguard investigation seeks to determine whether increased imports of a product are causing, or are threatening to cause, serious injury to a domestic industry. During a safeguard investigation, importers, exporters, and other interested parties may present evidence and views and respond to presentations by other parties. A WTO member may take a safeguard action (that is, restrict imports of a product temporarily) only if increased imports of the product are found to be causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury.”

Why the focus on safeguards at the beginning of the year? Well, blame it on the WTO: its first five ‘News and Events’ are all devoted to safeguard measures. Want to guess the countries and the goods? If you want to, then take a pause now.

On January 6, the WTO announced that its Committee on Safeguards had been notified of the initiation of safeguard investigations into imports: Madagascar on dry pastries and breakfast cereals; Madagascar on plastic pipes and tubes and accessories thereof; Türkiye on polyethylene terephthalate resin; Türkiye on terephthalic acid; and Türkiye on other paper and paperboard.

A general statement in the notifications is as follows: “The investigation was initiated upon an evaluation of a safeguard petition from the domestic industry and on the basis of the evidence and the information contained therein. Information currently available indicates that there has been a recent increase in imports of the product concerned in absolute terms, while relative imports have remained at very high levels. Available information also shows deterioration in some economic indicators of the applicant producer. The non-confidential summary of the application is available at the Internet address below.”

Unless you are a Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) manufacturer of any of the goods in question and currently export them to Madagascar or Türkiye, this article might only be of academic value to you. Unless. Unless, as a Sacu manufacturer, you are experiencing fair trade competition against which you require safeguard support. In that case, you might want to focus your attention on the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac).

According to Itac, “the safeguard measure can be introduced to protect a domestic industry against, not necessarily unfair, but nevertheless overwhelming foreign competition”. The commission adds: “The measures can be introduced against an unforeseen surge in imports that threatens to or causes serious injury to a domestic industry. Safeguard measures are temporary, with timelines to allow a domestic industry to adjust and improve its competitiveness.”

As to ‘How to apply’, it states: “The Sacu industry can apply to Itac for a safeguard investigation. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition has the sole authority to impose a duty or a measure upon receipt of a recommendation from Itac. Questionnaires/application forms can be obtained on Itac’s website (www.itac.org.za) or directly from the Trade Remedies Unit.”

The resources you require are: safeguard regulations (https://itac.org.za/trade-remedies/regulations/); Itac safeguard application questionnaire (https://itac.org.za/trade-remedies/application-forms/); and trade remedies brochure (https://itac.org.za/itac-brochures/).