- The Bureau of Customs is imposing for four months anti-dumping duties on cement from Vietnam following allegations of dumping
- Customs Memorandum Order No. 38-2021 imposes the duties in the form of a cash bond
- The duties apply to ordinary Portland cement Type 1 and blended Type 1P cement from Vietnam
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is imposing provisional anti-dumping duties on the importation of cement from Vietnam for four months following allegations of dumped prices hurtful to the domestic cement industry.
Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 38-2021 dated December 20 implements Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 21-07, which mandates that provisional anti-dumping duties in the form of a cash bond be imposed for four months on importations of ordinary Portland cement Type 1 and blended Type 1P cement originating from Vietnam.
READ: DTI oks anti-dumping duties on cement from Vietnam
DAO 21-07, dated November 29, said the regulation will take effect once BOC has issued the relevant order.
Under CMO 38-2021, the “cash bond will be equal to the provisionally estimated anti-dumping duty but not greater than the provisionally estimated margin of dumping in addition to any other duties, taxes, and charges imposed by law on like articles.”
DTI earlier said it accepted on April 15, 2021 the application for anti-dumping investigation filed by cement manufacturers Republic Cement & Building Materials, Inc.; CEMEX–Solid Cement Corp., and Apo Cement Corp.; and Holcim Philippines Inc.
The local cement manufacturers alleged dumping of imports of Type 1 and Type 1P cement originating from Vietnam was harmful to the domestic cement industry.
DTI, acting under Republic Act (RA) 8752, or the Anti-Dumping Act of 1999, said last April it had reviewed the evidence provided with the application and “determined the existence of sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation.”
Section 2 of RA 8752 provides that it is “the policy of the State to protect domestic enterprises against unfair foreign competition and trade practices. Towards this end, substantive and procedural remedies available to domestic enterprises shall be strengthened and made responsive to recent developments in world trade.”
The products covered by the petition fall under AHTN Codes 2523.29.90 and 2523.90.00 for Type 1 and Type 1P cement. These types are used for high-strength concrete designs with a minimal cement factor requirement (ready-mixed concrete), projects with tight completion schedules, pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete, and infrastructure projects such as roads, dams, bridges, railway structures, mega-structures, high-rise buildings, and condominiums.
In a report on the results of its preliminary investigation, DTI said there is a need to impose the provisional measure to prevent further material injury to the domestic industry.
DTI said the total volume of allegedly dumped imports was computed at 4.262 million metric tons (MT) or 55% of the total Philippine imports from July 2019 to December 2020. The volume of alleged dumped cement products satisfies the de minimis volume requirement of 3%. Under RA 8752, the volume of the allegedly dumped products from a particular country should normally be regarded as negligible if it accounts for less than 3% of the total imports.
Dumping margins for Type 1 cement ranged from US$1.02/metric ton (MT) to $10.53/MT or 2.69% to 31.87% of the export price. For Type 1P cement, dumping margins from 2019 to 2020 ranged from $1.16/MT to $12.79/MT or 3.80% to 29.20% of the export price.
The margins of dumping are above the de minimis requirement of 2% of export price.
Another contributing factor to the material injury suffered by the domestic industry is price undercutting, which was determined at 23% in 2019 and 24% in 2020 (January-June).
Moreover, the market share of domestically produced cement decreased from 85% in 2017 to 78% in 2019, as dumped imports increased its share in the domestic market.
DTI said the domestic industry suffered loss of market share; declining domestic sales, production, utilization rate, and employment; and increased cost of production and inventory.
Records of the case have been transmitted to the Tariff Commission, which has already started a formal investigation to determine if all the legal requirements for the application of definitive anti-dumping duties have been met.
