Philippine duty-free cement okayed
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has approved a proposal to extend duty-free imports of cement to stabilise prices, a Cabinet official said on Monday.
Duty-free imports for the commodities, which lapsed last month, will last for six more months and will be enforced retroactively, Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila told Malacañang reporters in a teleconference.
Without the exemption, importers must pay a 3-percent tariff if they are buying from member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 5 percent if they buy elsewhere.
In December 2008, Mrs. Arroyo issued Executive Orders 765 and 766, which lifted duties on cement for six months.
After the directives lapsed, a six-month extension was ordered via Executive Orders 818 and 819 in July 2009. Both orders expired last Jan. 12.
Favila did not say when the new directives would be issued. Published under Cement News
