The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is imposing a safeguard duty of ₱349 per metric ton (MT) on cement imports from neighboring China and Indonesia after both countries’ outbound shipments to the Philippines exceeded the exemption threshold.

Under Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 26-03, the DTI said it will no longer include China and Indonesia in the list of developing countries and territories exempted from duties imposed on ordinary Portland cement type 1 and blended cement.

This means cement imports from the two countries will be subject to a safeguard duty amounting to ₱14 per 40-kilogram bag, or ₱349 per MT, for a period of three years.

The DTI moved to implement duties on cement imports in October 2025 after the Tariff Commission (TC) found a causal link between increased importation and serious injury to the local industry.

The measures took effect in February this year following the issuance of a corresponding order by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Under Customs Memorandum Circular (CMC) No. 42-2026, the BOC stipulated that safeguard duties shall not be applied to a developing country if its share of the total import volume of cement is less than three percent.

“Provided, however, that developing countries with less-than-three-percent share collectively account for not more than nine percent of the total imports of the product concerned,” it added.

The DTI has since found that while Vietnam remains the top supplier of cement to the Philippines, its share of total import volume declined from 79 percent in 2025 to 63 percent in the first quarter of 2026.

At the same time, it noted that China increased its share from 11 percent last year to 23 percent in the first three months of this year, while Indonesian imports rose by two percentage points (ppts) to eight percent during the same period.

The DTI said this effectively exceeds the less-than-three-percent de minimis threshold, or the allowable minimum volume for a supplying country to be excluded from safeguard measures.

Under DAO 26-03, the DTI noted that the composition of developing countries under the de minimis threshold may still change based on a further review of the most recent available data.

Further, the agency said the safeguard duty rate remains subject to regular monitoring and review to ensure stable prices and a steady cement supply.

Last month, Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines Inc. (CeMAP) president John Reinier Dizon told reporters that the industry group was asking the DTI to consider imposing another safeguard duty on cement imports, which he said continue to enter the country at a rapid pace.

In a statement, CeMAP said the prior exemption granted to China and Indonesia weakened the safeguard mechanism on cement imports in the first place because it gave an “undue advantage” to their imports.

CeMAP said subjecting imported cement from both countries to safeguard duties is a “long-awaited correction that restores fairness, strengthens local manufacturing, and protects Filipino jobs.”

DAO 26-03 will take effect upon the issuance of a relevant order by the BOC.

Under the Safeguard Measures Act, the government can impose duties to provide relief to domestic industries injured by increased imports.