The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) welcomed a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) decision to expand safeguard duties on imported cement to include shipments from China and Indonesia.
Department Administrative Order 26-03 follows a Tariff Commission recommendation and expands a safeguard measure imposed in October 2025. The original measure levied a duty of P349 per metric ton on imported cement but exempted developing countries that accounted for less than 3 percent of total imports.
Bureau of Customs data for the first quarter of 2026 showed a significant increase in cement imports from previously exempted countries. China accounted for 23 percent of total cement imports during the period and Indonesia captured 8 percent, pushing both countries well above the exemption threshold.
CeMAP said the earlier exclusion of China and Indonesia undermined the effectiveness of the safeguard measure and gave imported cement from these countries an unfair competitive advantage over locally manufactured products.
CeMAP executive-director Renato Baja said the local cement industry continues to operate below capacity despite substantial investments. The industry maintains a utilization rate of just 53 percent even though domestic producers have a combined installed capacity of 53 million metric tons annually.
In 2025, domestic cement demand reached an estimated 34 million metric tons. Imports supplied around 6 million metric tons of that total, which reduced local production to 28 million metric tons and weighed on plant utilization rates.
“The expanded coverage is a long-overdue correction that restores fairness to the market, strengthens domestic manufacturing, and helps protect Filipino jobs,” CeMAP said.
“The Tariff Commission has already established the existence of injury caused by imports. Safeguard measures are therefore crucial not only for the industry, but also for Filipino livelihoods, national industrial resilience, and the country’s long-term economic strength,” Baja said.
Source: https://manilastandard.net/business/314748002/dti-imposes-cement-safeguard-duties-on-china-indonesia.html
