Safeguard investigation: imports must be shown to cause serious injury through objective, quantifiable evidence establishing a causal link. Safeguard investigations require the Director General to evaluate objective and quantifiable factors-including import increase rate and amount, market share taken by imports, and changes in sales, production, productivity, capacity utilization, profits and employment-to determine whether increased imports have caused or threaten to cause serious injury. A determination must be grounded in objective evidence demonstrating a causal link between import increases and the injury; injury caused by other factors must not be attributed to imports, and such cases may be referred for anti dumping or countervailing duty investigation.