DTI slaps 3-year safeguard tariff on imported cement

The Trade Department said Tuesday it imposed a three-year safeguard duty on imported cement to protect the local industry.

It said it slapped a definitive safeguard duty of P250 per metric ton, or P10 per 40-kilogram bag, on imported cement in the first year of implementation, which would be gradually reduced in the second and third years.

The definitive general safeguard tariff will be reduced to P9 per bag in the second year and P8 per in the third year.

The agency said it was in the public interest to impose the definitive safeguard measure. The Trade Department is mandated by Republic Act No. 8800, or the Safeguard Measures Act, to protect the domestic industry from a serious injury caused by a surge in imports. 

It said it considered the public interest in the decision whether to impose safeguard measures and took into account other factors to help the local industry and benefit the consumers and end-users.

“But basically, the rationale for the safeguard level is to balance national interest, minimizing the impact to prices for buyers and users while addressing the industry injury issue, and yet still encouraging local manufacturers to continuously pursue efficiencies to be more globally competitive,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

The department said that while it was mandated to protect consumers, there was a need to balance local supply and imports taking into account other sectors such as investors and industry which provide employment to Filipinos.

“If local manufacturers can adequately supply domestic requirements, they need to be provided a level playing field to enable them to compete with imports. This will allow expansion of the country’s manufacturing base and generate more jobs for Filipinos. Further, users of cement retain their option to choose between the local and imported cement since imports will still be allowed,” Lopez said.

The imposition of a safeguard measure is not expected to cause a shortage of cement in the domestic market considering that the cement manufacturers have sufficient capacity to meet domestic demand, the agency said.

The Trade Department said it reviewed the Tariff Commission’s findings and recommendations before arriving at its own decision.

The Tariff Commission earlier recommended the application of a definitive general safeguard measure of P297 per MT or P12 per 40-kg bag on imported cement to prevent the occurrence of the threat of serious injury.  TC also recommended that the definitive safeguard measure be applied for a period of three years.

“We are deciding on the imposition of definitive safeguard duty of P250 per MT or P10 per 40kg bag for the first year of the implementation to encourage and challenge the local cement industries to be globally competitive,” Lopez said.