United States – Measures Affecting Imports of Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tyres from China (WT/DS399/AB/R), Appellate Body Report issued on 5 September 2011, adopted on 5 October 2011

This dispute concerns a safeguard measure imposed by the United States on imports of certain passenger vehicle and light truck tyres from China. The measure was imposed as a product-specific safeguard under Section 16 of the Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China to the WTO following an investigation conducted by the United States International Trade Commission (the ‘USITC’). The first sentence of Paragraph 16.4 of the China's Accession Protocol establishes that market disruption shall exist when the following three conditions are met. First, imports from China are ‘increasing rapidly, either absolutely or relatively’. Second, the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive products is materially injured, or threatened with material injury. Third, rapidly increasing imports are ‘a significant cause’ of material injury to the domestic industry, or threat thereof. The WTO Appellate Report here presented interprets the conditions necessary to declare to be in presence of a market disruption, allowing to apply the transitional product specific safeguard provided for by Paragraph 16 of the China Protocol.