THE TARIFF Commission (TC) has ordered the imposition of anti-dumping duties on standard gypsum board imports from Thailand for five years due to its negative impact on the domestic industry.

“During the period of investigation for dumping determination from January 2022 to May 2023, there was dumping of standard gypsum board from Thailand,” the TC said in a report dated May 30.

In line with this, the TC ordered the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of Thai standard gypsum board, particularly those classified under ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature 2022 subheading 6809.11.00, for a period of five years.

According to the report, an anti-dumping duty of 8.52% of the export price will be imposed on gypsum boards from Gypsum Tech Co. Ltd., while a duty of 9.18% of the export price will be imposed on imports from Thai Gypsum Products PCL and other exporters from Thailand.

The duties were based on the computed dumping margins, which ranged from $0.01301 to $0.01624 per kilogram.

The commission’s decision came after it found that the volume of imports of standard gypsum board at dumped prices accounted for 71% of the country’s imports of standard gypsum board during the period of investigation.

“There was significant price undercutting by dumped imported boards, which led to price suppression as the industry’s average prices were lower than average costs to produce and sell in order to remain competitive and protect market share,” the TC said.

“While there are other factors that contributed to the impairment in the overall position of the domestic industry, the Commission finds that the results, when taken together, show that dumped standard gypsum board from Thailand caused material injury to the domestic industry,” it added.

However, these rates have yet to take effect as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has yet to issue a Department Administrative Order (DAO), which would be followed by a Customs Memorandum Circular from the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

The DTI is expected to issue the order within 10 days of receiving the TC report.

The investigation on Thai imports started after the domestic gypsum board industry, represented by Knauf Gypsum Philippines, Inc., filed a petition with the DTI for the imposition of anti-dumping duty against Thai gypsum boards on Nov. 24, 2023.

The petitioner, that is, Knauf Gypsum, is the sole manufacturer of standard gypsum boards in the Philippines.

According to the company, the lower price of dumped imports has resulted in an increase in Thai manufacturers’ market share, sales, and imports.

“The lower prices have resulted in the Philippine manufacturer’s decreased market share, lower sales, production, capacity utilization, and increased ending inventory. This trend will continue and worsen for Philippine industry,” Knauf Gypsum said.

According to the TC, the locally manufactured standard gypsum boards are a “like product” to those imported from Thailand, as they have the same material composition and production process and are used for similar applications.

They also both conform to the physical properties specified in American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C1396M-17, have similar dimensions, are compliant with ASTM marking and labeling requirements, have similar distribution channels, and fall under the same tariff classification.

Last year, the DTI issued DAO No. 24-10, which imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on importations of gypsum board from Thailand for a period of four months after finding material injury to the domestic industry.

It was implemented on Nov. 27, 2024, when the BoC issued Customs Memorandum Circular No. 201-2024. Under the order, the anti-dumping duty ranged from 4.65% to 34.72% of the export price, which was based on the computed dumping margins, which ranged from $0.01 to $0.06 per kilogram. — Justine Irish D. Tabile