Philippines: No safeguard duty on imported newsprint

04/02/2015 12:00 - 535 Views

The government has decided not to impose preliminary safeguard duty against imported newsprint from EU but instead proceeded with the full investigation over alleged injury to domestic industry caused by surge in imports of newsprint.

Walter van Hattum, head of Economic and Trade Section of the EU Delegation to the Philippines, told reporters covering the CS Garment plant visit in Cavite Economic Zone by EU Delegation officials led by EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux that the Tariff Commission conducted a public hearing last December where all stakeholders were asked to submit their position papers within a 60-day period.

The investigation was initiated under the Safeguard Measure Act following an evaluation of the petition filed by the domestic newsprint industry, represented by Trust International Paper Corporation (TIPCO), which accounted for about 100 percent of the total Philippine production.

Van Hattum said the EU welcomed the decision of the government not to impose preliminary or temporary duty against newsprint imports, which will directly impact newspaper companies.

“It is a good sign,” Van Hattum said.

Under the normal process, the agency concerned, in this case the Department of Trade and Industry, should have imposed a preliminary duty when it endorsed to the Commission the petition to impose safeguard duty versus imported newsprint from EU.

But the non-imposition of preliminary duty does not preclude the Commission from imposing a punitive import duty anytime.

Van Hattum, however, cautioned the use of Safeguard Measure citing it is a very stringent trade tool that must be used sparingly by trading partners.

It could be recalled that the Philippines has also launched a Safeguard investigation against steel (galvanized sheets) imports from EU. There has been no progress on this investigation.

“That’s why we are closely monitoring these safeguard initiatives being launched by the government against EU products,” he said.

Van Hattum stressed that the petitioner must prove the causality of import-export of products to establish material injury on the domestic industry.

“But that causality is difficult to prove,” he said.

Among EU countries, the United Kingdom is the biggest exporter of newsprint to the Philippines.

The Philippines had notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 20 September 2013 a safeguard investigation on newsprint classified under HS Codes classified under AHTN Codes 4801.00.10 and 4801.00.90.

The documents submitted by the petitioner showed that increased imports have caused serious injury to the local newsprint industry as indicated in their declining market share, production, sales, capacity utilization, productivity, profitability, price suppression, depression and undercutting.

Source: mb.com.ph