WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/11/PHL/5/Suppl.3 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/2 4 December 2006 
 
(06-5792) 
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 
 
(Float Glass
) 
 
  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 measures for a period of 3 y ears on tinted and clear float glass at a duty of 
Philippine Pesos 5,016.00 per metric ton for tin ted float glass, and Philippine Pesos 3,971.00 per 
metric ton for clear float glass, on the first year of the extension.  The amount of the duties for the second and third years will be subject to annual revi ew for the purpose of liberalizing or reducing the 
amounts. G/SG/N/11/PHL/5/Suppl.3 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/2 Page 2 
 
 
  IN THE MATTER OF THE EXTENSION OF THE DEFINITIVE GENERAL 
SAFEGUARD MEASURES AGAINST THE IMPORTATION OF FLOAT GLASS 
FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES 
(HS HEADING NO. 7005 2190 or AHTN Nos. 7005.2120 AND 7005.2190 AND HS HEADING 
NO. 7005.2990 or AHTN Nos.  7005.2920 AND 7005.2990) 
(Safeguard Investigation No. 02-2006) 
 
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 tinted float glass classifi ed under HS Code No. 7005.2190 or AHTN Nos. 
7005.2120 and 7005.2190 and clear float glass cla ssified under HS Code No. 7005.2990 or  AHTN 
Nos. 7005.2920 and 7005.2990 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 increases in power , fuel prices, overall transport costs and China’s 
massive import demand which pushed up prices of most commodities, adversely 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 provisions 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 clear and tinted float glass.  
 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 manufact urer of clear and tinted float glass, petitioner 
Asahi accounted for all the domestic production of subject articles.  The domestic industry made 
serious efforts to comply with its adjustment plan  and there is evidence that the industry is making 
positive adjustment to import competition.  The curr ent safeguard measure is effective.  The volume 
of imports decreased below the pre-surge level.  The domestic industry showed improvements in its 
production, sales, market shares, productivity, capacity  utilization and profitability.  The proximity of 
China and Indonesia to the Philippines and their sufficient freely disposable production capacities 
indicate the likelihood of substantially increased expor ts to the Philippines if the safeguard measure is 
terminated.  Several anti-dumping and safeguard cases filed against China and Indonesia further 
support the likelihood that exports from these countries may shift to the Philippines.  Without the 
safeguard duty, domestic selling prices will fall belo w levels not enough to recover cost to produce 
and sell.  There is a substantial threat of serious injury if safeguard duty is not extended.  Factors 
outside the control of Asahi negated the gains resu lting from its stalled adjustment plan.  Asahi needs 
more time to fully put it in place to effectiv ely face import competition.  Non-extension of the  G/SG/N/11/PHL/5/Suppl.3 
 G/SG/N/14/PHL/2 
 Page 3 
 
 
  safeguard measure will likely lead to increased impo rts of float glass which will cause serious injury 
to the domestic industry.”   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 safe guard measure shall be ex tended for another three 
(3) years, the timeframe needed by the industry to fully implement its adjustment plan and be 
competitive against imports.  The duty for clear and tinted float glass will be reduced by five 
percent (5%) on the first year of the extension period.  Thus, definitive safeguard measure of 
P5,016.00/MT for tinted float glass and P3,971.0 0/MT for clear float glass 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 provide d 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 the Bureau of Customs, imports from the following countries were found to have exceeded the three percent (3%) threshold for tinted  
float glass as  of January to August 2006: Ko rea (13.32%), Malaysia (14.66%) and Vietnam 
(7.23%).  Thus, imports from these countries shall be imposed the appropriate definitive 
general safeguard measures.  
  However, imports from the countries listed in A nnexes A and B shall continue to be excluded 
from the  imposition of the definitive general safe guard duty on float glass.  The composition of the 
developing countries on the de minimis list may cha nge depending on the most recent data available 
during the period of annual review which will be conducted by DTI during the extension period. 
  All importers of float glass, 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/5/Suppl.3 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/2 Page 4 
 
 
   
 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  G/SG/N/11/PHL/5/Suppl.3 
 G/SG/N/14/PHL/2 
 Page 5 
 
 
  Annex A 
 
List of Developing Countries Excluded from the Imposition 
of Definitive Safeguard Measure on Clear Float Glass 
 
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 Sri Lanka G/SG/N/11/PHL/5/Suppl.3 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/2 Page 6 
 
 
   
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. 
Lao PDR 
Macau 
Marshall Islands 
Micronesia, Fed. Sts. 
Midway Is. 
Mongolia 
Myanmar 
Nauru 
New Caledonia 
Niue 
Northern Marianas Is. 
Palau 
Pitcairn Is. Papua New Guinea 
Samoa 
Solomon Islands 
Tokelau 
Tonga 
Tuvalu 
Vanuatu 
Wake Is. 
Wallis & Futuna Is. 
 
A-2 Clear Float  G/SG/N/11/PHL/5/Suppl.3 
 G/SG/N/14/PHL/2 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Annex B 
 
List of Developing Countries Excluded from the Imposition 
of Definitive Safeguard Measure on Tinted Float Glass 
 
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 
B-1 Tinted Float G/SG/N/11/PHL/5/Suppl.3 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/2 Page 8 
 
 
   
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. 
Lao PDR 
Macau 
Marshall Islands 
Micronesia, Fed. Sts. 
Midway Is. 
Mongolia 
Myanmar 
Nauru 
New Caledonia 
Niue 
Northern Marianas Is. 
Palau 
Pitcairn Is. Papua New Guinea 
Samoa 
Solomon Islands 
Taiwan 
Thailand 
Tokelau 
Tonga 
Tuvalu 
Vanuatu 
Wake Is. 
Wallis & Futuna Is. 
 
__________