RI protests RP's safeguard tariff meassure on ceramics

RI protests RP's safeguard tariff meassure on ceramics

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government of Indonesia has formally asked the Philippine
government, via that country's ambassador at the Geneva-based
World Trade Organization (WTO), to revoke the high import tariff
imposed on Indonesian ceramics, according to a senior official at
the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Bachrul Chairi, a director at the ministry, told The Jakarta
Post on Wednesday that Indonesia also sent a letter last week to
a special committee of the WTO asking for an evaluation of the
Philippine policy.

The Philippines imposed last month an additional import tariff
of 5.4 pesos per kilogram on Indonesian ceramic products, on top
of the existing 15 percent tariff, in order to protect the local
industry. Philippine ceramics producers claimed that an influx of
Indonesian products was harming their businesses.

According to WTO rules, member countries are allowed
temporarily to impose high import tariffs to protect local
manufacturers from cheaper imported products. But the high
tariffs must immediately be abandoned if an investigation shows
that the imported products are not causing damage to the local
manufacturers.

Bachrul said the Philippine government should have consulted
with Indonesia before imposing the safeguard tariff on Indonesian
ceramics.

"We cannot accept this policy; there has been no bilateral
consultation with the Indonesian government," he said.

He said the difficulties faced by Philippine ceramics
manufacturers were not the result of an influx of Indonesian
products, but mainly because of "internal problems".

He did not elaborate, but experts have said that the
Philippine manufacturers operate inefficiently.

Indonesian ceramics exporters have protested the safeguard
tariff, and have called on the Indonesian government to discuss
the issue with the authorities in the Philippine.

The chairman of the Indonesian Ceramics Association, Johan
Silitonga, said the Philippine safeguard tariff policy was
ridiculous.

"We sell ceramics in the Philippine market for US$2.20 to
$2.50 per square meter but we have to pay a safeguard tariff of
about $1.50," Johan told the Post.

"This is a serious problem and we will soon bring this matter
to the WTO," he said.

The Philippine government has also imposed safeguard tariffs
on ceramics imported from China, Taiwan and Malaysia.

But ceramics from the European Union were exempted from the
additional tariff.

Indonesia exported some 2.5 million square meters of ceramics
to the Philippines in 2001, compared with one million in 2000.

Data from the Philippine Commission Tariff, as quoted by
Antara news agency, shows that the volume of imported ceramics
entering the Philippines has risen from 37.5 million square
meters in 1998 to about 66.16 million square meters in the first
seven months of 2001.