G/SG/N/7/PHL/13  
G/SG/N/8/PHL/15  
G/SG/N/11/PHL/16  
 
14 December  2023 
(23-8586) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Safeguards  Original: English  
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.4 OF THE AGREEMENT  
ON SAFEGUARDS BEFORE TAKING A PROVISIONAL  
SAFEGUARD MEASURE REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 6  
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.1(B) OF THE AGREEMENT ON  
SAFEGUARDS ON FINDING A SERIOUS INJURY OR THREAT  
THEREOF CAUSED BY INCREASED IMPORTS  
NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 9, FOOTNOTE 2  
OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS  
PHILIPPINES  
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Cylinders  
The following communication, dated 6 December and received on 13 December  2023, is being 
circulated at the request of the delegation of the Philippines .1 
 
_______________  
 
 
Further to G/SG/N/6/PHL/20  dated 4 April 2023 and pursuant to Article 12 and Article 9 of the WTO 
Agreement on Safeguards, the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the WTO hereby notifies the 
Committee on Safeguards of its preliminary determination findings on the investigation on the 
importation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders from various countries, and before taking a 
provisional safeguard measure under Article 6 of the Safeguards Agreement.  
1. PROVIDE THE PRECISE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCTS INVOLV ED 
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders classified under ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature 
(AHTN) Code 73.11.  
2. SPECIFY THE PROPOSED PROVISIONAL SAFEGUARD MEASURE  
The provisional safeguard measure will take the form of a cash bond amounting to PhP2.18/ kg on 
imported LPG steel cylinders under AHTN Code 7311, while the case is under formal investigation 
by the Tariff Commission, for a period of 200 days from the date of issuance by the Bureau of 
Customs (BOC) of an Order.  
Imports originating from developi ng countries listed in Annex A shall not be subject to the provisional 
safeguard measure.  
Importers of LPG steel cylinder from a country that is exempt from the safeguard duty shall submit 
a Certificate of Origin (CO) issued by the authorized agency/offic e in the source country of 
 
1 A copy of the DTI Administrative Order has been submitted electronically. To consult this document 
please contact Ms Richards ( anne.richards@wto.org ) of the Rules Division.  G/SG/N/7/PHL/13 • G/SG/N/8/PHL/15 • G/SG/N/11/PHL/16  
 
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  manufacture, subject to affixation of "Apostille " to the document or authentication by the Philippine 
Embassy/Consulate General, as applicable.  
3. SPECIFY THE PROPOSED DATE OF INTRODUCTION OF THE PROVISIONAL 
SAFEGUARD MEASURE  
The pr ovisional safeguard measure is scheduled to enter into force upon issuance by the Bureau of 
Customs (BOC) of the relevant Customs Memorandum Order (CMO). The Order signed by the 
Secretary of DTI was published in two (2) newspapers of general circulation on  29 November 2023.  
4. EXPECTED DURATION OF THE PROVISIONAL SAFEGUARD MEASURE, IF ANY 
DECISION ON THE DURATION OF THE SAFEGUARD MEASURE HAS BEEN MADE  
The provisional safeguard measure will be in force for two hundred (200) days.  
5. PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR:  
(a) Maki ng a preliminary determination, as provided for in Article 6, that increased 
imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury  
A review of the evidence made available to DTI shows:  
1. That the volume of imports of LPG steel cylinders:  
• In absol ute terms, imports of LPG steel cylinders accounted for more than 13,000 MT 
in 2017. In 2019, the rate of increase grew by 24% over the 2018 level. Imports sharply 
increased by 45% in 2020. In 2021, imports decreased by 13% but were still higher 
than the p re-surge level. The most recent data in 2022, slightly declined over the 2021 
level but still higher than the pre -surge level;  
 
• In relative terms, the share of imports relative to domestic production continuously 
increased from 2019 to 2021.  
2. That the in creased imports caused serious injury to the domestic industry as follows:  
• Share of domestic sales to Philippine market exhibited a downward trend from 2018 to 
2022, from a high of 58% to a low of 16% ; 
 
• Imports share to Philippine market continued to increase by 42% in 2018, 66% in 2019, 
73% in 2020, 76% in 2021 ; 
 
• Total production continuously declined from 2019 to 2021 by 34%, 36%, and 7%, 
respectively . 
3. That increased imports were the substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry 
which was caused by increased imports based on the following:  
• The condition of competition showed that the market share of domestic product 
decreased during the POI. Imports continued to displace the domestic market and 
continued to cut into the industry 's sales and market share from 2018 to 2022;  
 
• Domestic industry suffered significant impairment in its overall condition in terms of 
loss of market share, declining domestic sales, production, utilization rate, reduction in 
labor productivity, incu rred losses and increase inventory.  
(b) Determining that there are critical circumstances where delay would cause damage 
which it would be difficult to repair  
The condition of competition shows that the market share of locally produced LPG steel cylinders 
was essentially displaced during the investigation as the share of imports in the Philippine market 
significantly increased. This has resulted to the domestic industry 's loss of market share, declining G/SG/N/7/PHL/13 • G/SG/N/8/PHL/15 • G/SG/N/11/PHL/16  
 
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  domestic sales, production, utilization rate, reductio n in labor productivity, incurred losses and 
increase inventory. The negative financial status of the industry has made it increasingly difficult to 
get financing for its modernization, expansion, and operational requirements.  
If the surge in imports will  continue, the local industry will lose its market share to cheaper imported 
products. Without the local LPG industry, consistency and availability of local supply will be imperiled.  
6. OFFER OF CONSULTATIONS  
The Government of the Philippines offers consultat ions on the provisional safeguard measures . 
  G/SG/N/7/PHL/13 • G/SG/N/8/PHL/15 • G/SG/N/11/PHL/16  
 
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  ANNEX A  
LIST OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORIES  EXCLUDED  FROM THE  
IMPOSITION OF THE PROVISIONAL SAFEGUARD MEASURE  ON THE IMPORTATION OF  
LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS (LPG) CYLINDERS  
East & Southern Africa  West Africa  North Africa  South Asia  
Angola  
Botswana  
Burundi  
Comoros  
Congo. Dem. Rep.  
Djibouti  
Eritrea  
Eswatini  
Ethiopia  
Kenya  
Lesotho  
Madagascar  
Malawi  
Mauritius  
Mozambique  
Namibia  
Rwanda  
Seychelles  
Somalia  
South Africa  
Sudan  
Tanzania  
Uganda  
Zambia  
Zimbabwe  Benin  
Burkina Faso  
Cameroon  
Cape Verde  
Central African Rep.  
Chad 
Congo, Rep.  
Cote d' Ivoire  
Equatorial Guinea  
Gabon  
Gambia, The  
Ghana  
Guinea  
Guinea, Bissau  
Liberia  
Mali 
Mauritania  
Niger  
Nigeria  
Sao Tome &  
Principe  
Senegal  
Sierra Leone  
Togo Algeria  
Egypt, Arab Rep.  
Libya 
Morocco  
Tunisia  Afghanistan  
Bangladesh  
Bhutan  
British Indian Ocean 
Territory  
Timor -Leste  
India 
Maldives  
Nepal  
Pakistan  
Sri Lanka  
 
  G/SG/N/7/PHL/13 • G/SG/N/8/PHL/15 • G/SG/N/11/PHL/16  
 
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Europe & Central Asia  Middle East  Americas  East Asia & Pacific  
Armenia  
Azerbaijan  
Georgia  
Kazakhstan  
Kyrgyztan  
Tajikistan  
Turkiye  
Turkmenistan  
Uzbekistan  Bahrain  
Iran, Islamic Rep.  
Iraq 
Jordan  
Kuwait  
Lebanon  
Oman  
Qatar  
Saudi Arabia  
Syrian Arab Rep.  
United Arab Emirates  
West Bank & Gaza  
Yemen, Rep.  Anguilla  
Antigua & Barbuda  
Argentina  
Aruba  
Bahamas  
Barbados  
Belize  
Bermuda  
Bolivia  
Brazil  
British Virgin Is.  
Cayman Is.  
Colombia  
Costa Rica  
Cuba 
Dominica  
Dominican Rep.  
Ecuador  
El Salvador  
Falkland Is.  
(Malvinas)  
Grenada  
Guatemala  
Guyana  
Honduras  
Jamaica  
Mexico  
Montserrat  
Netherland Antilles  
Nicaragua  
Norfolk Is.  
Panama  
Paraguay  
Peru 
Puerto Rico  
St. Helena  
St. Kitts & Navis  
St. Lucia  
St. Vincent & the  
 Grenadines  
Suriname  
Trinidad & Tobago  
Turks & Caicos Is.  
Uruguay  
US Virgin Is.  
Venezuela  American Samoa  
Brunei Darussalam  
Cambodia  
Cook Is.  
Fiji 
French Polynesia  
Guam  
Hong Kong, China  
Indonesia  
Kiribati  
Korea, Dem. Rep.  
Lao PDR  
Macau, China  
Malaysia  
Marshall Islands  
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.  
Mongolia  
Myanmar  
Nauru  
New Caledonia  
Niue 
Northern Maria nas Is.  
Palau  
Papua New Guinea  
Pitcairn Is.  
Samoa  
Singapore  
Solomon Islands  
Chinese Taipei  
Tokelau  
Thailand  
Tonga  
Tuvalu  
Vanuatu  
Wallis & Futuna Is.  
 
 
__________