These measures are intended to protect European producers from the harmful effects of competition from countries outside the EU, but differ in their underlying rationale: safeguard measures are a response to a significant increase in imports, while anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties are aimed at tackling unfair trading practices.
Anti-dumping measures may be imposed when products are sold on the European market at artificially low prices, causing harm to European manufacturers. Countervailing duties may be imposed when manufacturers outside the EU benefit from government subsidies that lead to unfair competition. In both cases, the EU may impose additional import tariffs.
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