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THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has
thumbed down a petition filed by CAWC Inc. seeking to impose higher
tariffs in the form of safeguard duties on sodium tripoly-phosphate-technical
grade (STPP-TG).
STPP-TG is a powdered or granular
substance used as a primary ingredient for synthetic detergents to
soften the water.
Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila
said safeguard measures on the product run counter to public
interest.
In July last year the DTI
imposed a provisional safeguard duty in the form of a cash bond
amounting to P14.15 each kilogram on imported STPP-TG from various
countries. The provisional safeguard ended last month.
CAWC Inc. earlier said the
safeguard duty would make the local industry competitive, adding the
increase in STPP-TG imports harmed local players.
The DTI had forwarded the case to
the Tariff Commission for formal investigation. After reviewing the
commission’s findings, Favila said the definitive safeguard
measure goes against public interest.
Had the government continued to
impose higher tariffs, downstream industries, or businesses that use
the raw material would have suffered, he said.
--Katrina Mennen A. Valdez
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