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.