The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has begun slapping a provisional antidumping duty on cement imports from Vietnam that domestic manufacturers had claimed were injuring the local industry.

Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said in a Dec. 20 memorandum that the temporary additional tariff—in the form of a cash bond—will be imposed for four months after the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) administrative order took effect last Nov. 29.In particular, the DTI order said ordinary Portland cement type 1 and blended cement type 1P from Vietnam were being dumped—sold at lower prices abroad compared to normal value—in the Philippines.

Domestic players had alleged that the dumping of Vietnamese cement was causing material injury to local manufacturers producing similar products, as locally produced cement lost market share to cheaper imports.In its preliminary investigation, the DTI affirmed the injury inflicted by Vietnamese imports on domestic cement makers.

The DTI had computed dumping margins, or the amount of bonds that have to be paid for imported Vietnamese cement, as low as $0.73 per metric ton and a high of $12.79 per MT.The Tariff Commission was currently formally investigating this antidumping complaint, to determine a definitive additional duty on cement imports from Vietnam and protect local producers.

In a separate Dec. 16 letter to Guerrero, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who oversees the BOC, endorsed the imposition of the provisional antidumping duty. —Ben O. de Vera INQ