Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 173)
The purpose is to amend Executive Order No. 153, Series of 1994, to correct omissions and typographical errors and to implement a minimum ninety percent (90%) margin of preference on certain products included in the Nestle ASEAN Industrial Joint Venture (AIJV) projects.
Products covered include non-dairy creamer by Nestle ASEAN Thailand, chocolate dragees and Kitkata chocolate wafers by Nestle ASEAN Malaysia, and soya-based milk powder by PT Nestle ASEAN Indonesia.
MOP stands for Margin of Preference, which is the minimum percentage reduction given on the rates of duty for certain products under the AIJV preferential tariff.
Annex 'Aa' lists the specific articles granted the 90% margin of preference, along with their Harmonized System (HS) codes, descriptions, rate of duties, MOP percentages, and applicable AIJV preferential tariffs on specified dates.
Commercial production started in November 1993 for non-dairy creamer, December 1993 for chocolate dragees and Kitkata wafers, and January 1994 for soya-based milk powder.
The EO prescribes a reduced rate of duty (AIJV Preferential Tariff) for the listed products, applying a 90% MOP, which lowers the applicable tariff rates as specified in the annex on various dates.
The rate of duty for non-dairy creamer starts at 40%, decreasing to 35%, then 30%, with the AIJV preferential tariff applying rates of 4.0%, 4.0%, 3.5%, and 3.0% on specified dates from 1993 to 1995.
The Executive Order took effect immediately upon signing on April 27, 1994.