Philippines: Comprehensive tariff review starts on Monday

The Tariff Commission Monday starts a comprehensive review on most favored nation tariff from HS (Harmonized System) 1-97 of the Tariff and Customs Code covering 11,490 tariff lines with rates ranging from 0 to 65 percent in an effort to assist business in their strategic planning in the next four years.

Tariff Commission Chairman Edgardo B. Abon said the comprehensive tariff review is necessary because the current Comprehensive Tariff Program (CTP) is only up to December 31, 2010.

“Our Tariff and Customs Code is up to 2010 only, so we are doing this to bring out the rates for 2011 to 2015,” Abon said.

MFN tariffs cover the duty rates on imports coming from countries that the Philippines has no trade agreements. At present, the country has free trade agreement with ASEAN, China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

“The objective of this review is to make the CTP user friendly, to assist business in doing their strategic planning for the next four years,” Abon added.

The business community is keenly interested in the CTP review because tariff is part of the cost of doing business. The setting of a four-year CTP provides predictability to business.

During the week-long public consultations, Feb. 8-12, Abon said that industry stakeholders can ask for increase, decrease or for retention of existing tariffs but this would still be evaluated by the government in consideration of the other sectors.

Abon also explained that the Commission is not doing the tariff review because of the World Trade Organization but rather, “This is good for the country, not WTO.”

He also stressed that the country’s existing tariff rates are, by far, lower than the bound rates set by the WTO.

Source http://www.mb.com.ph