We analyze the supplemental agreement on which Korea and the United Staets reached in December 2010. We examine primarily the special motor vehicle safeguard provisions with a view to exploring the policy recommendations. In particular, we assess the special safeguard provisions in comparison with the WTO Safeguards Agreement, the previously agreed bilateral safeguard provisions of the Korea-U.S. FTA, and the transitional product-specific safeguard mechanism (TPSSM) to be imposed on Chinese products. We argue that the special safeguard mechanism is more restrictive than the existing bilateral safeguard provisions and that some special provisions could be considered worse than TPSSM. Policy recommendations include the reduction of the transition period to ten years after the effective date of the FTA, the shorter period of application and the expansion of the right to suspend concessions or other obligations to the safeguard-invoking Party.