EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Philippine Tariff Commission

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Safeguard action
against imports of
testliner boards
This is a report on the formal investigation conducted by the
Tariff Commission under Section 9 of the Republic Act No.
8800 (otherwise known as the “Safeguard Measures Act”) on
the petition filed by the domestic testliner board industry
represented by United Pulp and Paper Co., Inc. (UPPC)
against imported testliner boards from various countries
classified under ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature
(AHTN) Code Nos. 4805.24.00, 4805.25.10 and 4805.25.90.
This report addresses the issue on whether definitive general
safeguard action, in accordance with Republic Act No. 8800
and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, would be justified
against imports of testliner boards.
Period of
Investigation (POI)
For purposes of the Commission’s formal investigation, the
POI was extended up to the most recent period, i.e., up to
June 2010, for which data are available. This is in
accordance with the requirement by the WTO Appellate Body
(Argentina - Footwear) that it is necessary for investigating
authorities to examine recent imports, and not simply trends
in imports during the past five (5) years or for that matter,
during any other period of several years.
Findings and
conclusions...
The Commission, in accordance with RA 8800 and the WTO
Agreement on Safeguards, concludes that:
i) UPPC accounted for 63% of the total domestic
production of testliner board from 2004 to 2009;
ii) locally produced testliner board is a like product to
imported testliner board;
iii) the product under consideration was imported in
significantly increased quantities, both in absolute terms
i

and relative to domestic production, from 2005 through
2008. Imports peaked in the first six (6) months of 2010;
iv) the domestic testliner board industry suffered and is
suffering significant impairment in its overall condition in
terms of shrinking market share; declining production and
sales; underutilization of rated capacity and operating
losses; and
v) while there were other factors that contributed to the
impairment of the overall condition of the domestic
testliner board industry, increased importations of the
product under consideration were the substantial cause
of serious injury to the domestic industry.
The imposition of a
definitive safeguard
measure
The existence of a causal link between the increased imports
of testliner board and serious injury to the domestic industry
having been established, the Commission recommends a
specific safeguard duty of P 1,342/MT. The measure shall be
effective for three (3) years starting 16 September 2010, i.e.,
the date when the provisional measure took effect.
ii