The Philippine Department of Commerce 's continued initiation of safeguard investigations into Vietnamese cement is a new move aimed at imposing additional tax burdens on Vietnamese cement imported into the Philippine market.
The Philippine Department of Commerce's continued initiation of safeguard investigations into Vietnamese cement is a new move aimed at imposing additional tax burdens on Vietnamese cement imported into the Philippine market.
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| Of the 38 cement exporting companies to the Philippines provided by the Philippine Customs Bureau to the investigating agency, 18 are Vietnamese companies. |
The Vietnam Trade Office in the Philippines has just provided further information regarding the Philippines' initiation of a preliminary safeguard investigation into cement imports from several countries, including Vietnam.
The product in question is identified as cement under the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) codes AHTN 2523.29.90 and AHTN 2523.90.00.
The case was initiated by the Philippine Department of Commerce under Article 6 of Safeguard Investigation Act No. 8800, based on initial information provided by the Philippine Bureau of Customs and members of the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, which indicated that the increase in cement imports had caused serious damage to the domestic cement industry.
In the list of 38 cement exporting companies to the Philippines provided by the Philippine Customs Bureau to the investigating authority, 18 are Vietnamese companies. The investigating authority (the Philippine Department of Commerce and Industry) will ask questions and request relevant companies to answer and provide information.
According to preliminary information from the investigating agency, during the period from 2019 to 2024, Vietnamese cement accounted for 98% of the total cement imported into the Philippine market at certain times.
Vietnamese cement imports into the Philippines during the period 2019-2024
Year | Total cement imports of the Philippines (million tons) | Cement imported from Vietnam (million tons) | Percentage |
2019 | 5,331,854 | 4,232,387 | 79% |
2020 | 5,882,935 | 5,376,070 | 91% |
2021 | 6,894,860 | 6,381,001 | 93% |
2022 | 6,695,844 | 6,341,460 | 95% |
2023 | 7,013,358 | 6,878,572 | 98% |
2024 | 3,680,534 | 3,442,522 | 94% |
"Based on the information above, it appears that the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry is initiating a preliminary safeguard investigation into cement imports from several countries into the Philippine market, but primarily targeting cement imports from Vietnam," the Vietnamese Trade Office in the Philippines stated.
Previously, the Philippines had also investigated and imposed provisional safeguard duties on Vietnamese cement, and simultaneously launched an anti-dumping investigation into cement imported from Vietnam.
By 2022, although the Philippine Tax Commission recommended continuing the application of safeguard duties on cement imported from Vietnam, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry disagreed and decided not to continue applying safeguard duties, but only to impose anti-dumping duties on cement imported from Vietnam.
The Philippine Department of Commerce's renewed initiation of a safeguard investigation into Vietnamese cement is a new move aimed at imposing additional tariffs on Vietnamese cement imported into the Philippine market, thereby protecting the domestic cement industry. This will create further difficulties for Vietnamese cement manufacturers and exporters.
While anti-dumping investigations require the investigating authority to investigate each exporting company and impose anti-dumping duties separately, safeguard investigations involve a general investigation and imposition of duties on each company.
The difference with safeguard investigations is that in a safeguard investigation, the Philippines will investigate and impose tariffs on all sources of imported cement (countries), and the tariff rate applied to all businesses is the same (i.e., all businesses are subject to the same tariff rate).
This is a key point that domestic businesses need to consider, so they can come together, have a voice, and share information to best protect the interests of the domestic cement industry.
The main focus of a safeguard investigation is for the investigating authority to assess the extent of "serious damage" to the domestic industry caused by the impact of imported cement, without specifically investigating the selling prices of each exporting company.
Therefore, the best approach is for the association or organization of domestic cement industry businesses to organize a joint review among businesses, reaching a consensus with the Philippine investigating authority in examining and analyzing the actual “serious damages,” and the causal relationship between these damages and the increased volume of cement imports.
This approach is key to protecting the domestic cement industry from a safeguard investigation by the competent authorities in the Philippines.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/batdongsan/xi-mang-se-hep-duong-xuat-khau-sang-philippines-d230710.html
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