Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 894)
Section 402 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended (Presidential Decree No. 1464), empowers the President to modify import duties upon the recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
CEPT-AFTA (Common Effective Preferential Tariff under the ASEAN Free Trade Area) and ATIGA (ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement) are agreements that set tariff reduction schedules among ASEAN member states. This Executive Order implements tariff reductions on rice pursuant to these agreements.
Section 1 mandates that articles listed in the annex showing the Philippines' commitment on rice shall be subject to CEPT-AFTA/ATIGA rates according to the schedule indicated, and these rates apply to rice imports from ASEAN member states applying CEPT concessions on the same products.
Section 2 states that the tariff rates listed comply with Articles 19 (Reduction or Elimination of Import Duties) and 21 (Issuance of Legal Enactments) of the ATIGA.
Section 3 specifies that from the effectivity date of the Executive Order, all rice imports listed in the annex which are entered or withdrawn from warehouses for consumption in the Philippines must pay the prescribed duty rates and comply with the Rules of Origin under CEPT-AFTA/ATIGA.
Yes, Section 4 clarifies that the Philippines can invoke trade remedy measures under its laws, the ATIGA, and relevant international agreements as a protection against import surges.
Section 5 provides that if any provision of the Executive Order is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining valid provisions will continue to be in force and effect.
Section 6 revokes or modifies any presidential issuances, administrative rules, or regulations, or parts of them, that are inconsistent with this Executive Order.
The Executive Order took effect fifteen days following its complete publication in the Official Gazette or a national newspaper of general circulation.
The Protocol to Provide Special Consideration for Rice and Sugar, signed during the 21st AFTA Council Meeting on August 23, 2007, allowed the Philippines to request a waiver from certain tariff obligations under the CEPT Agreement.
The Philippines proposed a tariff reduction modality of 40% from 2009 until 2014 and 35% in 2015.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved the tariff reduction schedule during its meeting on May 25, 2010.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed on April 8, 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam, was part of the cooperation between the two countries relating to the implementation of tariff commitments under the CEPT-AFTA/ATIGA protocols.