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The Department of Trade and Industry is initiating a preliminary investigation to determine whether the importation of ceramic tiles is causing serious injury to the domestic industry
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The investigation stems from the Ceramic Manufacturers’ Association, Inc.’s application for safeguard measures
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The industry group allege that the increased imports of ceramic tiles from various countries have significantly affected local manufacturers
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DTI said it found the existence of a prima facie case that will justify the initiation of a preliminary probe
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DTI invites interested parties to submit their comments and position on the matter
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has launched a preliminary investigation to determine whether the importation of ceramic tiles from various countries is causing serious injury to domestic manufacturers.
In a notice dated February 3 signed by Trade secretary Ma. Cristina Roque, DTI invites interested parties to submit their comments and position on the matter, including their views on whether the imposition of a safeguard measure is in the public interest.
The preliminary investigation stems from the Ceramic Manufacturers’ Association, Inc.’s application for safeguard measures as they allege that the increased imports of ceramic tiles from various countries has seriously affected the local industry.
READ: DTI sets safeguard duty on imports of corrugating medium
Under Republic Act (RA) No. 8800, or the Safeguards Measures Act, the trade secretary may initiate a preliminary safeguard investigation if there is evidence that increased imports of the product under consideration are a substantial cause of, or are threatening to substantially cause, serious injury to the domestic industry.
The DTI, acting under Section 6 of RA 8800, has made an evaluation on the instant application and found the existence of a prima facie case that will justify the initiation of a preliminary safeguard measures investigation on the importation of ceramic tiles classified under Harmonized System (HS) Codes 2017/2022, subheadings 6907.22 and 6907.23, from various countries.
The period of investigation (POI) is from 2020 up to the first quarter of 2025.
In an evaluation report dated February 3, DTI said there are indications that increased imports of ceramic tiles are the substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry in terms of loss of market share, declining domestic sales, utilization rate, reduction in labor productivity, incurred losses, and increased production cost.
According to the report, there was an abrupt and notably sharp increase in the volume of imports in absolute terms and relative to domestic production from 2020 to 2024.
Increased imports relative to production are recent, sudden, sharp and significant enough, it added.
Imports increased significantly during the POI. From 2020 to 2023, imports rose from 439,898 metric tons (mt) to 797,725 mt, reflecting a cumulative growth of 81% over the two-year period.
Market share of the domestic industry steadily declined from 31% in 2020 to 23% in 2024 while imports increased their share over the same period.
Inventory, meanwhile, increased 58% from 2020 to 2024.
The report noted that the domestic industry submitted its adjustment plan to undertake improvement to increase production capacity while also improving efficiency and cost of production.— Roumina Pablo
