Philippines – No extension of safeguard measures for imported cement

General information

1. Type of case: Safeguard

2. Initiated Country: Philippines

3. Subjected Product: Ordinary Portland Cement Type 1 and Blended Cement Type 1P

4. AHTN Code: 2523.29.90 and 2523.90.00.

Updated procedure

In 2019, the Department of Industry and Trade (DIT) of the Philippines issued Department Administrative Order (“DAO”) No. 19-13 on the application of safeguard measures to imported cement for a period of 03 years, after receiving the conclusion of the Philippine Tariff Commission indicating a causal link between increased cement imports and the threat of serious injury to the domestic cement industry.

On October 05, 2022, in the Final Report on the formal investigation of the petition for an extension of safeguard measures against the importation of the two types of cement, the Philippine Tariff Commission found that the cement imported from various countries, including Vietnam, do not seriously harm or pose a considerable threat to seriously harm the Philippine cement industry, and recommended abandoning the application of safeguard measure for these cement products.

Based on the above Report, on November 22, 20222, the DIT of the Philippines issued DAO No. 22-14 in the series of 2022 regarding the extension of a safeguard measure on the Subjected Product. Accordingly, the application of safeguard duty on the cement imported into the Philippines expires from October 22, 2022 and shall not be renewed.

(Source: trav.gov.vn)