ICRIER Working Paper No. 189

An Analysis of the Special Safeguard
Mechanisms in the Doha Round of Negotiations
A Proposed Price-trigger-based Safeguard Mechanism

October 2006
By Parthapratim Pal
Deepika Wadhwa

The Doha Round of negotiations on agriculture allows all developing and least developed Member countries of the WTO access to a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), which accords the option to temporarily impose higher tariff rates on the import of an agricultural product if there is either a surge in its import volumes or a sharp dip in its import prices.

This paper takes a detailed look at the SSM and analyzes its usefulness for developing countries. The paper then proposes a price-trigger-based SSM instrument which is consistent with the goals spelt out in the Doha Development Agenda and satisfies most of the desired features of a safeguard instrument.

Abstract File | Full Text in PDF

Author’s contact : parthapal@gmail.com , dwadhwa@icrier.res.in

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