Domestic Cars to Be Exported to the Philippines Without Additional Tariffs

Safeguard Measure Exemption

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Philippine government has decided not to impose safeguard (emergency import restriction) tariffs on Korean-made finished cars.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 12th, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry ruled that there was no domestic industry damage related to the safeguard investigation on finished car imports. This investigation began in February last year following a petition by the Philippine Metal Workers Union Federation and lasted for one and a half years. The safeguard investigation related to automobiles is the first in 10 years since Ukraine's safeguard measures on passenger cars in 2011.

In January, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry released a preliminary investigation result judging that industrial damage had occurred due to finished car imports. Accordingly, provisional safeguard tariffs ranging from 1.6 million to 2.5 million KRW per vehicle were imposed. In response, the Korean government, through a public-private joint effort, expressed concerns about this safeguard investigation and emphasized the absence of industrial damage through bilateral consultations and submission of opinions with the Philippine government. As a result, the final ruling overturned the preliminary decision, concluding that there was no industrial damage.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "With this final ruling, the safeguard investigation is expected to end without additional tariff imposition, and the provisional tariffs deposited since February this year will be refunded. Our industry will be able to export to the Philippines without additional tariffs, which is expected to open up opportunities for securing the Philippine market for domestically produced cars and expanding entry into the New Southern region."

Meanwhile, exports of Korean cars to the Philippines have steadily declined since peaking at 537 billion KRW in 2016, with figures of 531.6 billion KRW in 2017, 397.2 billion KRW in 2018, 193.7 billion KRW in 2019, and 77 billion KRW in 2020.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.