Cement imports slapped safeguard duty

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has imposed a safeguard duty of P20.60 per 40-kg bag on imported gray Portland cement from all countries following a Court of Appeals (CA) decision upholding the authority of the DTI Secretary over cement safeguards.

The safeguard duty of P20.60 per bag will be effective for three years starting Dec. 10, 2001 when the provisional safeguard duty took effect with the issuance of Customs Memorandum Order No. 38-2001.

However, in imposing the definitive safeguard measures, Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II also gave a word of caution. "While the DTI believes that the definitive safeguard measures are needed to enable the cement industry to adjust to competition, it also bears in mind the need to closely monitor the industry’s progress to ensure the industry acts responsibly and not exploit the situation to engage in activities limiting competition or abuse its market power to prejudice the consumers, " Roxas said.

Roxas said the provisional safeguards measures proved effective as " it gave the industry the breathing spell it needed to recover from the injury it sustained due to the surge in cement imports."

"The imposition of the measure restore stability and normalized market conditions," he added.

The DTI chief also said the situation fostered healthy competition among domestic cement manufacturers, enabling them to considerably reduce prices from a high of P142 per 40-kg bag in 2001 to a low of P98 in 2002 and then P100 in 2003.

"The decision to adopt definitive measures will benefit a significant number of workers and employees in the domestic industry by saving thousands of jobs," Roxas said.

The DTI will undertake a regular review of the cement industry’s performance to determine the need for the continued imposition of safeguard measures.

Roxas warned that if there are "indications to the contrary, the DTI is authorized by law to terminate the safeguard measures."

"It is within our thrust to protect the consumers from unscrupulous traders who are out to exploit the case of cement to jack up prices," he said.