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Philippine FPI renews push for tighter cement, steel import control-The 19th China(Guangzhou)Int’l Metal &Metallurg
y Exhibition-metal exhibition
10/19/2017 steel expo-metal &metallurgy expo |
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Business Mirror reported that Federation of Philippine Industries, representing local manufacturers, is pushing for an equal treatment between importers and manufacturers of steel and cement, as the Duterte administration gears up for a stepped up infrastructure development under the “Build, Build, Build” program.
Manufacturers continue to find loopholes in the Department of Trade and Industry’s draft department administrative orders on cement and steel importation, insisting both products must still undergo in-country testing. The DTI’s DAO 17-02 proposes a minimum requirement of preshipment inspection as a substitute for testing imported cement upon arrival.
FPI President Jesus L. Arranza at news briefing said that “They have prepared an order, saying all shipments of cement, and eventually steel bars, will be subjected to preshipment inspection. That’s fine, but there has to be inspection at the port of entry, and results from [the DTI’s testing] should be awaited before being released into the market.”
Trade Secretary Mr Ramon M Lopez, commenting on the DAO on cement some weeks ago, said he may be inclined to allow cement imports to just undergo PSI at their port of destination. Upon arrival and upon passing the test, the imports will only be subjected to a minimal “verification” process at the port of entry.
Pure cement traders/importers, for their part, have groused that aside from ballooning costs from cement storage, spoilage may also occur due to the lengthy testing process by the Bureau of Product Standards.
Mr Arranza, however, said that the DTI should move to accredit more testing centers to facilitate entry. He added that “I’m not against importation, but only if importers do not pay the right duties and if the products are substandard. Let’s not have trade facilitation but sacrifice quality,” he added.
For steel, Philippine Iron and Steel Institute President Roberto Mr Cola similarly insisted on in-country testing and called for the wider accreditation of testing labs so as to hasten the entry of steel products.
Mr Cola stressed that “Just like the cement, testing should be done here. Steel is a commodity, and in the case of commodities, the origin of the shipment is difficult to trace. A shipment can come from anywhere or wherever it’s most convenient. [The] DTI just have one accredited lab for testing, referring to the Metals Industry Research and Development Center under the Department of Science and Technology.”
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