WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/11/PHL/3/Suppl.2 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/4 4 December 2006 
 
(06-5793) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 9, FOOTNOTE 2, 
OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS 
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.1(C) OF THE  
AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS 
(EXTENSION OF THE EXISTING MEASURE)  
 
PHILIPPINES 
 
(Glass Mirrors
) 
 
  Further to G/SG/N/6/PHL/3/Suppl.1-G/SG/N/6 /PHL/4/Suppl.1-G/SG/N/6/PHL/5/Suppl.1, all 
circulated on 3 July 2006, and pursuant to Article 12. 1(c) and Article 9, footnote 2, of the Safeguards 
Agreement, the Philippines notifies the Committee th at an affirmative finding has been made to 
extend the safeguard measure for a period of 3 years on glass mirrors at a duty of Philippine Pesos 
4,384.25 per metric ton on the first year of the extension.  The amount of the duty for the second and 
third years will be subject to annual review for the purpose of liberalizing or reducing the amount. G/SG/N/11/PHL/3/Suppl.2 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/4 Page 2 
 
 
  IN THE MATTER OF THE EXTENSION OF THE DEFINITIVE GENERAL 
SAFEGUARD MEASURES AGAINST THE IMPORTATION OF 
GLASS MIRRORS (COPPER-BASED) FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES 
(AHTN Nos. 7009.9100 AND 7009.9200) 
(Safeguard Investigation No. 03-2006) 
 
Asahi Glass Philippines, Inc. (AGP) 
Petitioner 
 
______________ 
 
ORDER 
 
 On 12 May 2006, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) received a letter from Asahi 
Glass Philippines, Inc. (AGP) requesting for the extension of the definitive general safeguard 
measures against imported glass mirrors (coppe r-based) classified under AHTN Nos. 7009.9100 and 
7009.9200 from various countries.  AGP claimed that the industry needed more  time to complete the 
implementation of its adjustment plan and become import competitive. Moreover,  external factors such as rise in power and fuel prices, overall transport costs and China’s massive import demand which pushed up prices of most commodities, adve rsely affected their cost competitiveness.  
 
 Section 19 (2) of RA 8800 (Safeguard Measures Act) provides that “the petitioner may appeal 
to the Secretary at least ninety (90) days before the expiration of the measure for an extension of the 
period by stating concrete reasons for the need th ereof and a description of the industry’s adjustment 
performance and future plan.  The Secretary shall i mmediately refer the request to the Commission.  
Following the procedures required under Section 9, th e Commission shall then submit a report to the 
Secretary not later than sixty (6) days from its recei pt of the request.  Within seven (7) days from 
receipt of the report, the Secretary shall issue an  order granting or denying the petition.  In case an 
extension is granted, the same shall be mo re liberal than the initial application.” 
  Pursuant to the above-cited provision of RA 8800, on 12 May 2006 the DTI referred to the 
Tariff Commission, the request of AGP for an exte nsion of the definitive general safeguard measures 
on imported glass mirrors.   On 5 October 2006, DTI received a copy of the Commission’s report on the petition of AGP.  The Commission concluded that “as the sole ma nufacturer of glass mirrors, petitioner Asahi 
accounted for all domestic production of subject articl es.  The domestic industry made serious efforts 
to comply with its adjustment plan and ther e is evidence that the industry is making positive 
adjustment to import competition.  The current saf eguard measure is effective.  The volume of 
imports decreased below the pre-surge level.  Th e domestic industry showed improvements in its 
production, sales, market shares, productivity, capacity utilization and profitability.  Without a safeguard duty, domestic selling prices will fall below le vels not  enough  to recover  cost to  produce 
and  sell.  There is a  substantial  threat of seri ous injury if safeguard duty is not extended.  Current 
overcapacity in China’s domestic market, more  furnaces being built and import trends in the 
Philippines indicate that the resumption of substa ntial increased imports is very likely once the 
safeguard measure is discontinued.  The proximity  of China to the Philippines and their sufficient 
freely disposable production capacities indicate the like lihood of substantially increased exports to the 
Philippines if the safeguard measure is terminated.  Factors outside the control of Asahi negated the 
gains resulting from its stalled adjustment plan.  A sahi needs more time to fully put it in place to 
effectively face import competition.  Non-extensi on of the safeguard measure will likely lead to 
increased imports of glass mirror which will cause serious injury to the domestic industry.”   G/SG/N/11/PHL/3/Suppl.2 
 G/SG/N/14/PHL/4 
 Page 3 
 
 
   The DTI reviewed the Commission’s findings and recommendations and has established that 
the extension of the definitive general safeguard meas ure shall be in the public interest.  The option to 
choose between local and imported product remains as the measure is temporary and there are no 
quantitative restraints from imports. Imports will be ma intained at their pre-surge levels.  Continued 
existence of a viable domestic industry assures cons umers of on-time delivery of goods and ensure the 
tenure of employment in the glass manufacturing industry and related sales and distribution services.    IN VIEW THEREOF, and in accordance with Section 19(2) of RA 8800, the following are 
hereby issued: 
 
1.  The imposition of the definitive general safegua rd measure shall be extended for another three 
(3) years, the timeframe needed by the industry to fully implement its adjustment plan and be 
competitive against imports.  The duty will be re duced by five percent (5%) on the first year 
of the extension period.  Thus, definitive safeguard measure of P
4,384.25/MT shall be 
imposed on the first year of the extension period.  The amount of the measure for the second 
and third years of the extension period shall be  subjected to an annual review for the purpose 
of liberalizing or reducing its intensity as provi ded under Rule 15.6 of the IRR of RA 8800.   
 2. Pursuant to Section 13 of RA 8800 and Rule 13.1.d of its IRR, “a general safeguard measure 
shall not be applied to a product originating fro m a developing country if its share to total 
Philippine imports of the said product is less than three percent (3%):  Provided, however, 
that developing countries with less than three percent (3%) share collectively account for not 
more than nine percent (9%) of the total Phili ppine imports of the pr oduct concerned”.  Based 
on available Import Entry Declarations from th e Bureau of Customs, for the January to 
August 2006 period, imports from India (3.89%) already exceeded the three percent (3%) 
threshold.  Thus, imports from India shall be imposed the definitive general safeguard 
measure on glass mirrors (copper-based).  
  However, imports from the following countri es shall continue to be excluded from the 
imposition of the extended definitive general saf eguard measure on glass mirrors (copper based): G/SG/N/11/PHL/3/Suppl.2 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/4 Page 4 
 
 
   
Europe & Central 
Asia Middle East Americas East Asia & Pacific 
Albania 
Armenia 
Azerbaijan 
Belarus 
Bosnia & Herzegovina 
Bulgaria Croatia 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic Estonia 
Georgia 
Greenland Hungary 
Kazakhstan 
Kyrgyz Republic Latvia 
Lithuania 
Macedonia, FYR Malta 
Moldova 
Poland Romania 
Russian Federation 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Tajikistan Turkey 
Turkmenistan 
Ukraine Uzbekistan 
Yugoslavia, Fed. Rep. Bahrain 
Iran, Islamic Rep. 
Iraq 
Israel 
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. Chile 
Colombia 
Costa Rica Cuba 
Dominica 
Dominican Rep. Ecuador 
El Salvador 
Falkland Is. (Malvinas) French Guiana 
Grenada 
Guadaloupe 
Guatemala 
Guyana Haiti 
Honduras 
Jamaica Martinique 
Mexico 
Montserrat Netherland Antilles 
Nicaragua 
Norfolk Is. Panama 
Paraguay 
Peru Puerto Rico 
St. Helena 
St. Kitts & Navis St. Lucia 
St. Pierre & Miquelon 
St. Vincent & the  
      Grenadines 
Suriname Trinidad & Tobago 
Turks & Caicos Is. 
Uruguay US Virgin Is.. 
Venezuela American Samoa 
Brunei Darussalam 
Cambodia 
Christmas Is. 
Cocos (Keeling) Is. 
Cook Is. Fiji 
French Polynesia 
Guam Hongkong 
Johnston Is. 
Kiribati Korea, Dem. Rep. 
Korea, Rep. of 
Lao PDR Macau 
Malaysia 
Marshall Islands Micronesia, Fed. Sts. 
Midway Is. 
Mongolia Myanmar 
Nauru 
New Caledonia 
Niue 
Northern Marianas Is. Palau 
Pitcairn Is. 
Papua New Guinea Samoa 
Singapore 
Solomon Islands Tokelau 
Tonga 
Tuvalu Vanuatu 
Vietnam 
Wake Is. Wallis & Futuna Is. 
 
  G/SG/N/11/PHL/3/Suppl.2 
 G/SG/N/14/PHL/4 
 Page 5 
 
 
  East & Southern Africa West Africa North Africa South Asia 
Angola 
Bostwana Burundi 
Comoros 
Congo. Dem. Rep. 
Djibouti 
Eritrea Ethiopioa 
Kenya 
Lesotho Madgascar 
Malawi 
Mauritius Mozambique 
Namibia 
Reunion Rwanda 
Seychelles 
Somalia South Africa 
Sudan 
Swaziland 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 
Negeria Sao Tome & Principe 
Senegal 
Sierra Leone Togo Algeria 
Egypt, Arab Rep. Libya 
Morocco 
Tunisia Afghanistan 
Bangladesh Bhutan 
British Indian Ocean Territory 
East Timor 
Maldives 
Nepal Pakistan 
Sri Lanka 
 
 The composition of the developing countries on the de minimis  list may change depending on 
the most recent data available during the period of  annual review which will be conducted by the DTI 
during the extension period. 
 
 All importers of glass mirrors, regardless of port of exportation are required to secure a Certificate of Country of Origin (CO) issued by the authorized agency/office in the source country of 
manufacture as authenticated by the Ph ilippine Embassy/Consulate thereat. 
 
 The notification and consultation requirem ents of Article 12 of the WTO Safeguards 
Agreement and Section 17 of RA 8800 and its IRR sh all be complied with.  Imports originating from 
ASEAN Member countries shall be governed by the provisions of Articles 6 and 8 of the Agreement 
on the CEPT Scheme. 
 
 The application for the extended definitive ge neral safeguard measure shall be monitored and 
reviewed in accordance with Sections 15 and 16 of RA 8800. 
 
 Let this Order be published in two (2) newspa pers of general circul ation and let individual 
notices be sent to all interested parties including the country members concerned. 
 G/SG/N/11/PHL/3/Suppl.2 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/4 Page 6 
 
 
   This Order shall take effect upon the issu ance of the relevant Memorandum Order by the 
Bureau of Customs or 15 days after the publication of this Order in two (2) newspapers of general 
circulation, whichever comes earlier. 
 
SO ORDERED.  6 November 2006  
PETER B. FAVILA 
Secretary  
__________