Chapter VII, Section I, Article 28 · Regulation (EU) 2026/1395

Contents

Article 28 #

1.If the Commission considers that there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the conditions set out in Article 26(1) are met, it shall investigate whether the normal Common Customs Tariff duties should be wholly, or partially, reintroduced.

2.The Commission shall initiate an investigation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article upon request by a Member State, by any legal person or any association not having legal personality, acting on behalf of Union producers, or on the Commission’s own initiative if it is apparent to the Commission that there is sufficient prima facie evidence, as determined on the basis of the assessment referred to in Article 27, to justify such investigation. The request to initiate an investigation shall contain sufficient prima facie evidence that the conditions for imposing the safeguard measure set out in Article 26(1) are met. The request shall be submitted to the Commission. The Commission shall, as far as possible, examine the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence provided in the request, to determine whether there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation.

3.Where there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation, the Commission shall publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. That notice shall provide all necessary details about the procedure and deadlines, including the possibility of recourse to the Hearing Officer of the Commission directorate-general responsible for international trade. The investigation shall be initiated within one month of the request received pursuant to paragraph 2. Where there is insufficient evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation, the Commission shall inform the Member States of its decision not to initiate an investigation within one month of the date of receipt of that request.

4.An investigation, including the procedural steps referred to in Articles 29, 30 and 31, shall be concluded within 12 months from its initiation.

5.For general safeguard investigations concerning products listed in Chapters 1 to 24 of the Common Customs Tariff as laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, originating in beneficiary countries, the period referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall be reduced to two months in the following cases:

(a)when the beneficiary country concerned does not ensure compliance with the rules of origin or does not provide the administrative cooperation referred to in Article 25;

(b)when imports of products listed in Chapters 1 to 24 of the Common Customs Tariff as laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, under the preferential arrangements referred to in Article 1(2) granted under this Regulation, massively exceed the usual levels of exports from the beneficiary country concerned.

Defined terms · 13

Show every defined term

beneficiary countries
means countries benefitting from any of the preferential arrangements under the GSP;
Common Customs Tariff duties
means the customs duties specified in Part Two of Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, except those duties established as part of tariff quotas;
complaint
means a complaint submitted to the Commission through the Single Entry Point (SEP).
countries
means countries and territories that have a customs administration;
effective implementation
means the integral implementation of the undertakings and obligations undertaken under the relevant conventions, thus ensuring fulfilment of the principles, objectives and rights guaranteed in the relevant conventions in the beneficiary country’s entire territory, including in any areas of that territory that the beneficiary country has designated as a special economic zone or an export processing zone;
enhanced engagement
means a continuous process aiming to facilitate and incentivise beneficiary countries to make progress in the implementation of the conditions set out in this Regulation, or to address shortcomings in respecting the principles of the relevant conventions;
interested parties
includes those parties involved in the production, distribution or sale of the imported products referred to in paragraph 1 and of like products or directly competing products.
least-developed countries
means least-developed countries designated as such by the UN;
like product
means a product which is identical, that is to say alike in all respects, to the product under consideration, or, in the absence of such a product, another product which, although not alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the product under consideration.
plan of action
means a list of measures provided by a GSP+ requesting country to effectively implement the relevant conventions;
preferential market access arrangement
means preferential access to the Union market through a trade agreement, either provisionally applied or in force, or through autonomous preferences granted by the Union;
Sensitive/non-sensitive
refers to the products included in the standard GSP (Article 6).
standard GSP beneficiary countries
means countries benefitting from the standard GSP as listed in Annex I and identified as such in column C thereof;

Article 28#

Article 28 #