THE Tariff Commission (TC) said it has launched a second review on anti-dumping duties charged on wheat flour imports from Turkey, which are due to expire this year.
The TC said it will conduct a preliminary conference on March 28 on the recommendation of the Department of Agriculture, following a request by the Philippine Association of Flour Millers, Inc. (PAFMIL).
The anti-dumping duty on Turkish wheat flour imports is set to expire in late 2023.
“All interested parties, including parties on record in the first expiry review investigation on the anti-dumping duty imposed against importations of wheat flour from the Republic of Turkiye are required to appear at the preliminary conference on March 28 at 10 a.m.,” the TC said in a notice posted on its website dated March 20.
“Pursuant to Section 711 of Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, which adopted the provisions of RA No. 8752 or the Anti-Dumping Act, notice is hereby given that the TC has initiated on March 20 its second expiry review on the anti-dumping duty imposed against importations of wheat flour from the Republic of Turkiye…,” it added.
In September 2020, the TC approved the three-year extension of the anti-dumping duty on Turkish wheat flour imports ranging from 2.87% to 29.57% until 2023, having ruled that the termination would result in the “continuation or recurrence of dumping.”
The three-year extension was approved following the expiry of the anti-dumping duty on Turkish wheat flour imports imposed between 2015 and 2020, which ranged from 2.87% to 16.19%, after the TC determined that there was an imminent threat of injury to the domestic industry.
In a separate TC hearing last week, the PAFMIL also urged the TC to consider the retention of the zero percent most favored nation (MFN) duty on milling wheat imports and the retention of 7% MFN duty for wheat flour imports for the upcoming 2024 to 2028 tariff schedule.
The group’s executive director, Ric M. Pinca, said that the MFN duty for wheat flour should be maintained since the domestic industry has enough capacity to meet wheat flour demand. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
