Philippines DTI DAO 26-03: Definitive Cement Safeguard — China and Indonesia Stripped of Developing-Country Exemption

Mechanism

The Philippine Tariff Commission completed an affirmative serious-injury determination in late 2025, establishing a causal link between the surge in imported cement and material injury to the domestic industry (led by CEMEX Philippines, Holcim Philippines, Republic Cement, and Eagle Cement). The Tariff Commission recommended a definitive general safeguard measure; DTI operationalised it via DAO 25-15, which took effect in February 2026 and imposed an MFN safeguard duty while extending a developing-country exemption to nations with <3% import-share.

DAO 26-03 triggers the de minimis review mechanism: once China's and Indonesia's shares crossed the 3% threshold (China 11% in FY-2025, 23% in Q1-2026; Indonesia 6% in FY-2025, 8% in Q1-2026), the DTI exercised its authority to remove them from the exempt list for the remainder of the three-year safeguard window. The duty (PHP 349/MT specific duty) is applied at entry and collected by Philippine Customs (BOC) in addition to the applicable MFN tariff.

The measure specifically covers ordinary Portland cement Type 1 (HS 2523.29.00) and blended cement (HS 2523.90.00). Chinese suppliers have dominated the import surge — the volume increase correlates with Chinese cement overcapacity driving export-oriented dumping as domestic demand remains compressed.

Downstream implications

• Philippine domestic cement producers (CEMEX PH, Holcim PH, Republic Cement, Eagle Cement) gain

tariff-wall relief from the two dominant import origins through approximately May 2029.

• The measure re-prices approximately 29-31% of Philippine cement imports (combined CN + ID share in

Q1 2026), representing a significant cost shift for construction contractors and infrastructure projects relying on lower-cost import supply.

• This is the first trade-remedy action from the Philippines in the IPTM register — filling a

clean absent-regime gap. The Philippines has an active DTI/Tariff Commission anti-dumping and safeguard regime but had zero actions filed; DAO 26-03 opens the PH trade-remedy cluster.

• Indonesia is also named as a target, making it a dual-country action unusual in the region;

Indonesia's cement industry (led by Semen Indonesia Group) had been directing surplus production into Philippine import channels.

Open questions

• What is the exact effective date of DAO 26-03 (date of issuance vs. date of publication in the

Official Gazette or DTI website)? The DAO was signed 20 May 2026; media coverage appeared 2-3 June 2026.

• Will Indonesia or China challenge the safeguard exclusion via WTO dispute settlement (Philippines

is a WTO member; Article XIX / Agreement on Safeguards applies)?

• Is a sunset review or extension petition already in train for DAO 25-15 / DAO 26-03 beyond the

three-year window?