THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has imposed temporary anti-dumping duties on gypsum boards or drywall from Thailand, noting that imports had affected the sole local manufacturer.
In a Nov. 5 order, the DTI said that imported gypsum boards with thicknesses of 9 and 12 millimeters from Thailand were being dumped and had “caused material injury to the domestic gypsum board industry.”
“The imposition of [a] provisional measure is necessary to prevent further material injury to the domestic industry,” Acting Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said in the order.
Acting Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque. PHOTOS BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
The anti-dumping duty, in the form of a cash bond, will be imposed for four months starting from the date of the issuance of a memorandum order by the Bureau of Customs.
A surety bond amounting to P500,000 will also be released to the petitioner.
Knauf Gypsum Philippines Inc., the sole manufacturer of the product in the country, had sought the imposition of anti-dumping duty on gypsum boards, used in construction and which consists of a core of hardened extruded gypsum encIosed in a reinforcing layer of paper linerboard, imported from Thailand.
The period of investigation (POI) for the case lasted from January 2022 to May 2023, the DTI said, while the POl for injury was from 2019 to 2022 and updated to September 2023.
Citing domestic wholesale and export prices gathered by the gypsum board industry, the department said that there was a substantial dumping of gypsum boards from Thailand.
Previous reports stated that the alleged dumped imports from Thailand amounted to 30,422 metric tons (MT) in 2022, more than half of the 52,066 MT in total imports for that year.
Some 15,744 MT was allegedly dumped in January to May 2023, equivalent to 66.15 percent of the 23,846 MT imported during the period.
“[The] domestic industry suffered material injury in terms of declining domestic sales, production, utilization rate and increased inventory in 2021,” the DTI said.
Dumping involves exporters selling products at a much lower price compared to the normal value in an importing country. The World Trade Organization has authorized member countries to impose anti-dumping duties to address the impact to the domestic industry.
The DTI also said that while the market share of domestic products increased to 67 percent in 2022 from 30 percent in 2019, comparing the first three quarters of 2023 to the same period in 2022 showed a decline to 58 percent from 66 percent.
“The industry has lost a substantial share of its market, with 30 percent captured by dumped imports from Thailand in the first three quarters of 2023,” it said.
The DTI said that the preliminary determination report, including the records of the case, will be transmitted to the Tariff Commission for a formal investigation to determine if all legal requirements for the application of a definitive anti-dumping duty had been met.
WITH A REPORT FROM PNA
Be the first to comment