Cement tariff ceiling at P297/ton
The final tariff rate on imported cement will not go beyond the figure recommended by the Tariff Commission (TC), Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said, but he stopped short of saying if it would also be any lower.
Lopez said on Tuesday that a technical group was currently reviewing the appropriate tax rate after the TC recommended to impose a safeguard measure against imports in defense of large cement producers.
The recommendation followed a decision of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) earlier this year to impose a provisional safeguard duty on imported cement, alleging that this had seriously injured local producers, most of whom were multinational companies.
Under current rules, the DTI will have the final say as to whether or not to act on the commission’s recommendation. If the DTI does act on it, the agency would still have to reconcile the discrepancy between DTI and TC’s recommended tariff rates.
The TC had recommended to set the safeguard duty at P297 a metric ton, or P12 a 40-kilo bag.
On the other hand, the provisional safeguard duty imposed by the DTI is worth P210 a metric ton, or P8.40 a bag, which will remain in effect until Sept. 10.
“[We] won’t go beyond P12 [per 40-kilo bag],” Lopez said. He, however, deferred from saying if he also would push to adopt the P8.40 rate instead.
“I think, in principle, we want to find that balance without rocking the boat in the market [in terms of] prices, but at the same time, allowing the right amount of safeguard for the local companies,” he said.
He also said there was still no need to impose a suggested retail price (SRP) on cement, even though the DTI said it would impose an SRP when it first issued the provisional duty. He said prices so far had not moved.
“We don’t want the safeguard to be the reason for higher prices. We understand that’s also what we have to watch out for,” he said.
Safeguard measures are imposed when a domestic industry has either suffered from a serious injury due to a sudden and sharp increase in imports, or even a threat of such harm.
In this case, imports surged from 2013 to 2017—the years covered by the investigation—which, according to Lopez, led to the commission’s findings that in part pointed to an “injury to the industry.”
