The WTO Agreement on Safeguards: Improvement on the GATT Article XIX?

The Agreement on Safeguards is a revision of the GATT Article XIX, which provided the general rules on safeguards before 1995. The legal relationship between the GATT Article XIX and the Agreement on Safeguards was subjected to controversy in the recent WTO panel cases, Korea—Definitive Safeguard Measure on Imports of Certain Dairy Products and Argentina—Safeguard Measures on Imports of Footwear. The panels and the Appellate Body in those cases held that GATT Article XIX still applies to the extent that there is no express conflict with the Agreement on Safeguards. The appropriateness of this decision is questioned since the Agreement on Safeguards contains all the substantive and procedural requirements for the application of safeguard measure.