The Safeguard Instrument25 Since 2008, the number of safeguards investigations initiated by the G20 countries has increased steadily. A similar trend can be observed regarding the number of measures imposed. 26 Thus, a comparable trend is evident for safeguards as for the other trade defense instruments, anti-dumping and anti-subsidy instruments. In recent years and months, the discussion on safeguards has also reached the broader public in the European Union. In the context of the EU’s Trade Policy Review and in the discussion on European open strategic autonomy, this previously little-known and relatively rarely used instrument is increasingly moving into the focus of the trade defense debate. The G20 countries initiated a total of 123 safeguard investigations between October 2008 and midOctober 2020. Definitive measures were imposed in 63 of these cases (51 %). With 39 investigations, India initiated the most, followed by Indonesia (33), Turkey (15) and Russia (10). Argentina, Japan, and South Korea did not initiate any Safeguard investigations during the period covered, and Brazil, Canada, China, and Mexico initiated one investigation each.
Total Number of Safeguard Investigations Initiated among G20 Countries Diagrammtitel October 2008 - mid-October 2020 140 123 116
120 104 96
100 79 80
83
89
66 59
60 42 33
40 21 20 3 0 2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Source: World Trade Organization (2008-2020), G20-Trade Monitoring Reports, <https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/g20_annex_bis_jun20_e.xls> (accessed 12 February 2021), BDI analysis.
25
BDI has published a more detailed position on the safeguard instrument. The paper is available via the following link: https://english.bdi.eu/media/publications/#/publication/news/the-safeguard-instrument/. 26 World Trade Organization (2008-2020), G20-Trade Monitoring Reports, <https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/g20_annex_bis_jun20_e.xls> (accessed 12 February 2021), BDI analysis. 25
