WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/11/PHL/4/Suppl.2 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/3 1 December 2006 
 
(06-5788) 
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 
 
(Figured Glass
) 
 
  The following notification, dated 30 November 2006, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the Philippines.  
_______________ 
 
 
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 y ears on figured glass at a duty of Philippine Pesos 
2,274.30 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/4/Suppl.2 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/3 Page 2 
 
 
  IN THE MATTER OF THE EXTENSION OF THE DEFINITIVE GENERAL 
SAFEGUARD MEASURES AGAINST THE IMPORTATION OF FIGURED GLASS 
FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES 
(HS Code No. 7003.1290 or AHTN Nos. 7003.1220 & 7003.1290 and  
HS Code No. 7003.1990 or AHTN Nos. 7003.1920 & 7003.1990) 
(Safeguard Investigation No. 01-2006) 
 
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 figured glass classified under HS Code No. 7003.1290 or AHTN Nos. 7003.1220 and 7003.1290 and HS Code No. 7003.1990 or AHTN Nos. 7003.1920 and 7003.1990 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 figured 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 manufacturer of figured 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 current saf eguard measure is effective.  The volume of 
imports of figured glass decreased below the pre- surge level.  The domestic industry showed 
improvements in market shares, productivity and pr ofitability.  Current overcapacity in China’s 
domestic market, more furnaces being built in Asia, Br azil, Iran, Turkey and Kiev-Ukraine and import 
trends in the Philippines indicate that the resumption of substantial increased imports is very likely 
once the safeguard measure is discontinued.  With out the safeguard duty, domestic selling prices will 
fall below levels not enough to recover Asahi’s cost to produce and sell.  There is a substantial threat 
of serious injury in the form of increased imports of figured glass if safeguard  duty is not extended.  
Without the extension of the safeguard measure, the positive gains that were re alized by the domestic 
industry will be negated as it still needs time to fully put in place its adjustment plan to effectively 
face import competition.”   G/SG/N/11/PHL/4/Suppl.2 
 G/SG/N/14/PHL/3 
 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 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 will be re duced by five percent (5%) on the first year 
of the extension period.  Thus, definitive safeguard measure of P
2,274.30/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 the available Bureau of Customs Import Entry declarations from January to  August  2006,  
imports  from  the following countries were f ound to have exceeded the three percent (3%) 
threshold: Indonesia (8.59%) and Taiwan (4.14% ).  Imports from Indonesia and Taiwan shall 
therefore be subject to the imposition of the definitive general safeguard measures on figured 
glass.  
  However, imports from the following countri es shall continue to be exempt from the 
imposition of the  extended definitive gene ral safeguard measure on figured glass: G/SG/N/11/PHL/4/Suppl.2 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/3 Page 4 
 
 
   
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 
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 India Maldives Nepal Pakistan 
Sri Lanka 
  G/SG/N/11/PHL/4/Suppl.2 
 G/SG/N/14/PHL/3 
 Page 5 
 
 
   
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. 
 
 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.  G/SG/N/11/PHL/4/Suppl.2 
G/SG/N/14/PHL/3 Page 6 
 
 
   All importers of figured glass, regardless of port of exportation, are requested 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. 
 
 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 
 
__________