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BusinessWorld
February 24, 2021 | 7:54 pm
AUTO WORKERS who sought safeguard duties on car imports asserted their standing to file such a petition after being queried about whether they actually represent the industry.
The Trade department imposed provisional duties on car imports after investigating an application from the Philippine Metalworkers Alliance (PMA), which claimed a decline in domestic employment after a surge in imports.
As the Tariff Commission conducts its own investigation, lawyers representing auto companies and industry groups affected by the duties questioned the labor group’s standing to seek such a petition. Domestic manufacturers oppose the duties.
PMA said it is a legitimate stakeholder in the auto industry because it represents workers whose job security was affected by disruptions in the production process.
BusinessWorld
February 25, 2021 | 12:31 am
FEWER COUNTRIES will be exempt from duties placed on car imports after the government reassessed its developing economy classifications set to comply with international rules, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
In department administrative order 21-01 published on Tuesday, the DTI said that it must follow an agreement with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to exclude developing countries with minimal or insignificant import volume from safeguard measures.
But it also said that developing economies are further classified in a low to lower middle-income spectrum and have low to high human development. It added that members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are mainly high-income economies.
Published February 22, 2021, 3:49 PM
Legado Motors, Inc., the official distributor of GAC Motor cars in the Philippines, announced that it will be increasing the prices of its whole vehicle line-up effective March 1.
The price increase is being implemented after the Bureau of Customs (BoC) released a Customs Memorandum Order stating the directive of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to add a tariff rate on imported vehicles.
Starting March 1, Legado Motors, Inc. will set a Php 78,000 price increase to its current vehicle line-up, composed of the GA4, GS3, GS4, GN8, and the GS8.
With barely a month left before the implementation of the price increase, customers may still avail of the vehicle models at their current prices.
Automakers and importers are now cracking down on the Philippine Metalworkers Alliance (PMA) for allegedly misrepresenting the local auto manufacturing industry. The alliance is already in hot water after filing a petition to impose safeguard duties on imported vehicles.
During a hearing with the Tariff Commission, members of the legal counsel of several automakers stepped in to voice their concerns. Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corporation (MMPC) legal counsel Eric Ricalde of SGV& Co. stated that he doubts the ability of the PMA to present data as it does not have access to or personal knowledge on sensitive information about the automakers.