Philippines government hikes import duty on steel

Philippines Cabinet-level Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) approved the rules raising the tariffs on steel products from the current 3 percent to 7 percent. Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments indicated that the rules include the bases for determining whether the Global Steelworks International Inc. is operating commercially or not. As previously reported by SteelOrbis back in mid-October 2004, the Philippines government announced plans to increase duties on imported hot rolled coils, cold rolled coils and tinplates, upon the request of Global Steelworks International Inc (GSII). In line with the statement released by the CTRM, the duties would be increased from 3 percent to 7 percent, and since GSII is not a producer of tinplate, the duty on subject product imported from ASEAN countries would remain at 0 percent and the same product imported from non-ASEAN countries would remain at 3 percent. However, these duties would be effective once GSII is in commercial operation upon certification by the CTRM. In line with the recent statement, the duty hike will be imposed once GSII's production volume is found to have reached 50 percent of its Board of Investments (BoI)-registered capacity for hot mill or cold mill products. Accordingly, GSII will submit a document to CTRM regarding its production. CTRM will validate GSII claims and submit a report to the Bureau of Customs (BoC) accordingly. If claims are confirmed, the duty hike will come into force.