Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Announcement by China of Definitive Safeguard Measures to be Imposed on Imported Steel

November 20, 2002

The Government of China decided on November 19 to take definitive safeguard measures on imported steel. The Government of Japan is concerned about a series of safeguard measures, which have been invoked following the U.S. safeguard measures on steel imports, and has repeatedly urged the Government of China, through bilateral consultations and other forms of negotiation with China, not to proceed from provisional measures to definitive measures. It is therefore regrettable that China has officially decided to implement definitive measures.
The Government of China has decided at this time to impose definitive safeguard measures on five category products, narrowing down significantly from the 17 that were so treated while the provisional measures were in place. The Government of Japan takes note of this decision, as it is also based on repeated consultations between the Governments of Japan and China.
The Government of Japan intends to respond to this decision appropriately, considering comprehensively issues including the question of its WTO-consistency and its influence on Japan's industry, after examining the content of the definitive measures that China has announced and the results of the safeguard investigation.

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