QuestionsQuestions (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 71)
Executive Order No. 71 modifies the rates of import duty on specified articles to implement the Philippines’ tariff commitments under the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), particularly for products included in the ASEAN–China Highly Sensitive List.
It cites: (1) the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Co-Operation (2002), (2) the Agreement on Trade in Goods (TIG) under the ACFTA (signed 2004), and (3) Annex 2 of the TIG Agreement, which sets modalities for reducing/eliminating MFN tariffs for Sensitive/Highly Sensitive products.
MFN rates on Highly Sensitive List products must be reduced to not more than 50% not later than 2015 for ASEAN 6 and China.
The NEDA Board recommended (on 16 January 2012, on ad referendum basis) the tariff reduction schedules of certain tariff lines under the Highly Sensitive Lists, which serves as the required recommendation for the President’s issuance under the TCCP.
Goods are identified as those specifically listed in the Annex and classified under Section 104 of the TCCP (as amended). They are then subject to the import duty rates indicated in Column 4 of the Annex.
It provides that for China and ASEAN 9, the applicable rate is the ACFTA preferential rate, but only upon submission of the proper Certificate of Origin (CO) Form E.
It conditions the application of ACFTA rates on compliance with origin documentation—i.e., proper submission of CO Form E—so preferential tariff treatment depends on meeting the origin requirement.
The Tariff Commission may, upon request, issue tariff classification rulings to confirm the applicable rates of duty for particular products subject to Section 2.
They are applied from the effectivity date of the Executive Order to articles entered into or withdrawn from warehouses for consumption, subject to compliance with the Rules of Origin under Article 5 of the TIG Agreement.
It refers to the customs timing points that trigger the imposition of duties: import entry into the country or withdrawal from customs/other bonded warehouses for domestic consumption. This determines when the new tariff rates apply.
It states that nothing in the EO prevents the Philippines from invoking trade remedy measures under Philippine laws, the TIG Agreement, and other relevant international agreements, especially to address import surges.
No. Section 4 expressly preserves the ability to invoke trade remedy measures as an effective device against import surges.
Section 5 contains a repealing clause for inconsistent issuances; Section 6 is a separability clause stating that if any provision is invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions stay valid.
It takes effect immediately upon publication in a newspaper of general publication.
Because preferential or applicable rates under the EO are conditioned on compliance with the Rules of Origin under Article 5 of the TIG Agreement, which determines whether the goods qualify as originating under ACFTA.
The EO contemplates that correct tariff classification under the TCCP is necessary, and the Tariff Commission can issue classification rulings to confirm applicable duty rates—highlighting the interdependence of classification, origin rules, and tariff treatment.