DTI mulls over P12 cement safeguard duty

Technical working group is reviewing the appropriate safeguard level after the TC’s affirmation

While deliberations on the appropriate amount of safeguard duty on cement imports is at hand, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it has no plans to go beyond the P12 duty per bag of imported cement prescribed by the Tariff Commission (TC).

The P12 figure serves as the difference between the weighted average landed cost of cement imports and the average ex-plant selling price of local cement. TC’s proposed duty of P12 per 40-kilogram bag or P297 per metric ton (MT) of cement is higher than the P8.40, or P210 per metric ton duty initially imposed by the DTI earlier this year.

The provisional safeguard measure by the DTI stems from its claim that the surge in cement imports within a five-year period caused “serious injury” to the domestic industry, consequently prompting the TC to conduct a formal investigation to verify the claim and justify the duty.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that a technical working group (TWG) is reviewing the appropriate safeguard level after the TC’s affirmation. The DTI has 15 calendar days upon receiving TC’s report to come up with a decision.

He said he has tasked the TWG to work on the actual basis for the final figure with the end view of keeping the prices balanced while safeguarding the industry.

“We will just review it, but in principle, we want to find that balance without rocking the boat in the market as to prices (and) at the same time, allowing the right amount of safeguard for the local companies,” Lopez told reporters at a chance interview in Makati on Tuesday, 20 August.

“I can’t tell if it’s P12 or P8.40, that is why we have to see some other basis or computation,” he added, noting that neither representatives from the side of cement importers nor the local cement makers have come up to talk with the DTI.