The Department of Trade and Industry issued an Order imposing anti-dumping duties for five years on imported standard gypsum board, faced or reinforced with paper or paperboard only under AHTN 2022 Subheading No. 6809.11.00 from Thailand.
Imports of the subject product from Gypman Tech Company Limited will face 8.52% anti-dumping duty as percentage of export price while imports from Thai Gypsum Products PCL will face 9.18%.
Those exporters who did not make themselves known to the Commission, did not cooperate sufficiently during the formal investigation, and new foreign exporters who have not exported subject articles to the Philippines during the period of investigation (POI) will face the “all others’ rate” of 9.18% as a percentage of export price.
However, for those exporters or producers in Thailand who have not exported the subject product to the Philippines during the POI, their individual margins of dumping may be determined following a review pursuant to Section 301 (n) of RA 8752 and elaborated under Section 18 (g) of the IRR.
The New Shippers Review shall be initiated and carried out on an accelerated basis, provided that such exporters or producers can show that they are not related to any of the exporters or producers in Thailand who are subject to anti-dumping duties.
An application must be submitted to the Tariff Commission in writing containing a description of the foreign exporter’s product and the basis of the request and no anti- dumping duties shall be levied on imports from such exporters or producers while the review is being carried out.
This decision is based on the recommendation of the Tariff Commission, after conducting the formal investigation on the anti-dumping petition by Knauf Gypsum Philippines, Inc., the sole manufacturer of standard gypsum board in the Philippines.
While there are other factors that contributed to the impairment in the overall position of the domestic industry, the Commission finds that the results, when taken together, show that dumped standard gypsum board from Thailand caused material injury to the domestic industry.
The investigation found that the existence of dumped import volume is not negligible, and there was significant price undercutting by dumped imported boards, which led to price suppression as the industry’s average prices were lower than average costs to produce and sell in order to remain competitive and protect market share.
It can be noted that the DTI had ordered the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties in the form of cash bond after its preliminary determination. The imposition commenced last December 9, 2024 upon the issuance by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of Customs Memorandum Circular (CMC) No. 201-2024. Given that the cash bond collected is in excess of the anti-dumping duty assessed in the final determination, the remainder or the difference shall be returned to the concerned importers.
The DTI Administrative Order 25-05 shall take effect after the lapse of the period to file a Motion for Reconsideration or upon a negative resolution of the Motion for Reconsideration if one has been filed (pursuant to Section 20 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 8752), and upon issuance of the relevant Customs Memorandum Order or Customs Memorandum Circular by the Bureau of Customs.
“My priority is to protect our local industries from unfair competition.”
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque stressed, “My priority is to protect our local industries from unfair competition, specifically now that we anticipate an increase in dumped products due to the slowdowns in other major markets.”
“These industries are essential to our economy in providing jobs and stable incomes for Filipino families.”
Also, the administration’s directive is to prioritize local industries, protect domestic jobs and industries first, as Roque always mentioned, “Our commitment is to create an environment where domestic industries can effectively compete with imports. These industries are essential to our economy in providing jobs and stable incomes for Filipino families.”
Anti-dumping measure, pursuant to Anti-Dumping Act of 1999 is a trade policy tool which allows the government to act against unfairly traded dumped imports which caused or threaten to cause material injury to the domestic industry producing similar products.
