THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will slap a safeguard duty on imported cement amounting to P14 per 40-kg bag or P349 per metric ton of Ordinary Portland Cement Type 1 and Blended Cement for a period of three years.
Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina A. Roque announced on Tuesday the agency will adopt the Tariff Commission’s (TC) recommendation to impose the said amount.
With the tariff on imported cement, Roque said in a statement: ‘The imposition of the safeguard duty will be subjected to dynamic monitoring and review to ensure that prices remain stable and supply stays sufficient to cover demand at any given time.’
DTI, meanwhile, explained that the TC’s recommended safeguard duty rate represents only 3 to 4 percent of prevailing retail prices.
Moreover, the Trade department assured consumers that the added cost will not be passed on to them as the safeguard duty ‘applies solely to imported cement.’
Instead, the agency pointed out that the safeguard measure is intended to level the playing field between domestic manufacturers and importers.
In addition, DTI noted that the excess cash bond paid by importers or the difference between the provisional and final duty assessed will be refunded once the corresponding Department Order is issued.
Supply guarantee
Meanwhile, in light of the recent earthquakes that have severely affected several areas across the country, Roque underscored the importance of ensuring ‘adequate and affordable’ supply of cement nationwide.
‘The DTI will closely monitor the implementation and impact of the safeguard measure on cement prices to prevent any unwarranted price adjustments and to ensure that the duties remain at levels necessary to address the serious injury suffered by the domestic industry,’ the agency said in its statement.
Roque also noted that the agency will ‘actively regulate’ the effects of safeguard tariffs to maintain a ‘balanced’ environment where both local manufacturers and cement importers can adapt, compete, and thrive, particularly during period of calamities or supply disruptions.
The Trade department also reaffirmed that the safeguard measure is ‘temporary, designed to restore fair competition and ensure that consumer welfare is maintained.’
Last week, local cement manufacturers asked the government to raise the safeguard duty on imported cement to P600 per metric ton (MT) to make the local industry competitive.
‘We had been hoping for [safeguard duty] of P600 per ton. This is higher than the provisional [duty] of P400,’ Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) Executive Director Renato Baja told reporters in an interview on Thursday.
As to the P349 per MT safeguard duty recommended by the Tariff Commission in its final report, Baja said this is ‘not enough.’
In its report published on September 30, the Tariff Commission recommended a specific duty of P349/MT as the definitive safeguard measure to be imposed on importations of Ordinary Portland Cement Type 1 and Blended Cement.
Two weeks ago, consumer group United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) argued that extending the period of imposition of the P16 tariff per 40-kilo bag on imported blended cement will only jack up prices of local cement, which could undermine competition and burden Filipino consumers.
‘The Department Order 25-01 was signed by the Secretary on February 20, 2025. It will take effect for 200 days, so if we count the 200 days, any moment now the 6-7 months or 200 days period will end. So now, we hear that the cartels have an appeal to continue this,’ UFCC President Rodolfo B. Javellana Jr. told reporters in Filipino during the consumer group’s protest in front of the building of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Makati City last September 29.