What is important is not whether infant industry protection is located in a safeguards clause, but the conditions that are attached to the right to use IIP. The standard infant industry clause in existing EPA texts does not add anything significant that is not already available under the existing safeguards clause. Nor does it speak to the special situation of infant industries. The standard clause allows for measures only when there is (a) an increase in the volume of imports and (b) this is attributable to liberalization under the agreement. Neither of these conditions is appropriate for infant industry protection, and the second condition does not even exist for normal safeguard measures. So if infant industry is seen as deserving special protection, the current clause patently does not do the job. Whether an IIP clause makes use of the other provisions in the safeguards clause (eg consultations, provisional measures, etc), and where the clause is located, is less important than the basic conditions under which infant industry protection is permitted.

Lorand