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President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. issued Executive Order No. 62 modifying the rates of import duty on various products, including rice, for 2024 to 2028
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The tariff for rice was lowered to 15% from 35%
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EO 62 takes effect 30 days after its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. issued an executive order modifying the nomenclature and rates of import duty on various products, including rice, for 2024 to 2028.
EO No. 62 series of 2024, signed on June 20 by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, modifies various products’ most favored nation (MFN) rates of duty — or the promised taxes imposed on members of the World Trade Organization — to “augment supply, manage prices, and temper inflationary measures…” The order cut the tariff for rice to 15% from 35%.
EO 62 said there is “a need for a new multi-year and comprehensive tariff schedule that will provide a transparent and predictable tariff structure, and allow businesses to engage in medium- to long-term planning to improve productivity and competitiveness, facilitate trade, and enhance consumer welfare.”
Under EO 62, tariffs were maintained for products such as corn, pork, mechanically deboned meats, sugar, vegetables such as onions, shallots, garlic, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, and lettuce, among others.
The order was issued after the National Economic and Development Authority Board, chaired by Marcos, on June 3 approved the recommendation of the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters to maintain current rates under EO 12 on more than half of the tariff lines covering various agricultural and industrial products that have relatively low applied tariffs, particularly for raw materials and intermediate inputs used in manufacturing.
READ: NEDA Board oks draft EO extending lower rice, pork tariffs
The approval comes after a comprehensive review of the country’s entire tariff structure with the intention to further structure the tariff regime to have a more efficient competitive economy.
Upon effectivity of EO 62, all covered articles that are entered into or withdrawn from warehouses in the Philippines for consumption will be levied with the MFN rates of duty as prescribed in the new order.
EO 62 takes effect 30 days after its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
For rice, the tariff rates will take effect 15 days after publication.
The comprehensive review and/or specific MFN tariff rates under the EO will be subject to periodic review.
Tariff rates on rice will be subject to review every four months from the effectivity of EO 62.
