JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. _03. SERIES OF 2000 IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS PURSUANT TO REPUBLIC ACT 8800: “AN ACT PROTECTING LOCAL INDUSTRIES BY PROVIDING SAFEGUARD MEASURES TO BE UNDERTAKEN IN RESPONSE TO INCREASED IMPORTS AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF”, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE SAFEGUARD MEASURES ACT” WHEREAS, Section 39 of Republic Act 8800 (RA 8800) sets its effectivity “fifteen days following its complete publication in owo (2) newspapers of general circulation or in the Official Gazette, whichever comes earlier.” RA 8800 was published in two (2) newspapers of general circulation on July 24, 2000 and thus is effective on August 9, 2000. NOW, THEREFORE, these Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRRs) are issued as Joint Administrative Order No. __ (2000) to guide all concerned departments, offices, agencies, and stakeholders, in the implementation of RA 8800. Section 1. Section 2. CHAPTER! GENERAL PROVISIONS Short Title. — This Joint Administrative order shall be known as the Implementing Rules and Regulations (RRs) Pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 8800. Declaration of Policy. — These IRRs are issued pursuant to the policy declared under RA 8800, to wit! “The State shall promote the competitiveness of domestic industries and producers based on sound industrial and agricultural development polices, and the efficient use of human, natural and technical resources. In pursuit of this goal and in the public interest, the State shall provide safeguard measures 10 protect domestic industries and producers from increased imports which cause or threaten to cause serious injury to those domestic industries and producers.” Rule [Link] IRRs shall remain effective unless explicitly and specifically amended by the Secretaries of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry in consultation with the Department of Finance, the Tariff Commission, and the Bureau of Customs.Section 3. Scope of Application. — This Act shall apply to products being imported into the country irrespective of source. Rule 3. Scope of Application - The provisions of these IRRs shall apply to products which are being imported from all sources into the Philippines. Rule 3.1. A general safeguard measure under Chapter Il of these IRRs shall apply where there is an increase in the quantity of a product being imported, whether absolute or relative to the domestic production, which is determined to be a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry. Rule 3.2 A special safeguard measure on an agricultural product under Chapter Ill of these IRRs shall apply where: Rule 3.2.a_ Its cumulative import volume, in a given year, exceeds its trigger volume; or but not concurrently; Rule 3.3.b. Its actual cif. import price has gone below its trigger price. Section 4. Definitions.- For the purposes of this Act and these IRRs, the following terms are defined as follows: @) "Agricultural product” shall refer to a specific commodity under Chapters J to 24 of the Harmonized System (HS) of Commodity Classification as used in the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines; 4) "Commission" shall refer to the Tariff Commission; ©) “Consumers” shall refer to natural persons or organized consumer groups who are purchasers, lessees, recipients or prospective purchasers, lessees, recipients of consumer products, services or credit; qd "Critical circumstances” shall mean circumstances where there is prima facie evidence that increased imports, whether absolute or relative to domestic production, are a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry and that delay in taking action under this Act/ these IRRs would cause damage to the industry that would be difficult 10 repair; ©) "Directly competitive products” shall mean domestically-produced substitutable products;1) "Domestic industry” shall refer to the domestic producers, as a whole, of like or directly competitive products manufactured or produced in the Philippines or those whose collective output of like or directly competitive products constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of those products; g) "Interested parties” shall include domestic producers, consumers, importers, and exporters of the products under consideration; 1) “Like product” shall mean a domestic product which is identical, i.e. alike in all respects to the imported product under consideration, or in the absence of such a product, another domestic product which, although not alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the imported product under consideration; i) "Market access opportunity” shall mean the percentage of the total annual volume of imports of an agricultural product to the corresponding total volume of domestic consumption of the said product in the country in the three (3) immediately preceding years for which data are available; i) "Minimum Access Volume (MAY)" of tariff-rate quota shall refer to the amount of imports of an agricultural product allowed to be imported into the country at a customs duty lower than the out-quota customs duty; 1) "Positive adjustment to import competition” shall refer to the ability of the domestic industry 10 compete successfully with imports after the termination of any safeguard measure, or to the orderly transfer of resources to other productive pursuits; and to the orderly transition of dislocated workers in the industry to other productive pursuits; "Price difference" is the amount obtained after subtracting the [Link]. import price from the trigger price; m) "Product" shall refer 10 article, commodity or good; n) "Secretary" shall refer to either the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry in the case of non-agricultural products or the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture in the case of agricultural products; 0) "Serious injury” shall mean a significant impairment in the position of a domestic industry afier evaluation by competent authorities of all relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing on the ‘situation of the industry concerned, in particular, the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the product concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic market taken by increased imports, changes in levels of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilization, profit and losses, and employment;P) "Substantial cause" means a cause which is important but not less than any other cause; "Threat of serious injury" shall be understood to mean serious injury that is imminent; “Trigger price” is the price benchmark for applying the special safeguard measure; and "Trigger volume " safeguard measure. is the volume benchmark for applying the special Rule 4.1, Other terms used in these IRRs include and are defined as a). "Adjustment Plan" shall refer to an action plan which a domestic industry is required to submit, that describes a set of quantified goals, specific plans, and timetables that a concerned industry commits to undertake in order to facilitate positive adjustment of the industry to import competition. b) "Domestic industry" shall refer to the domestic producers, as a whole, of like or directly competitive products manufactured or produced in the Philippines or those whose collective output of like or directly competitive products constitutes « major proportion of the total domestic production of those products; Provided, however, that 1) in the case of a domestic producer which also imports the product under consideration, only its domestic production of the like or directly competitive product shall be treated as part of the domestic production, or 2) in the case of a domestic producer which produces more than one product, only that portion of its Production of the like or directly competitive product may be treated as part of such domestic industry, c) “Perishable and seasonal agricultural product” shall refer to any agricultural product which has a short shelf life, growing season or marketing period, among other factors;CHAPTER Il GENERAL SAFEGUARD MEASURES Section 5. Conditions for the Application of General Safeguard Measures. ~ The Secretary shall apply a general safeguard measure upon a positive final determination of the Commission that a product is being imported into the country in increased quantities, whether absolute or relative to the domestic production, as to be a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry; however, in the case of non-agricultural products, the Secretary shall first establish that the application of such safeguard measures will be in the public interest. Rule 5. Conditions for the Application of General Safeguard Measures Rule 5.1. Rule 5.2 The Secretary shall apply a general safeguard measure upon a positive final determination of the Commission that a product, irrespective of source, is being imported into the country in increased quantities, whether absolute or relative to the domestic production, as to be a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry. However, in the case of non- agricultural products, the Secretary shall first establish that the application of such safeguard measure will be in the public interest. ‘The Secretary, when establishing that the application of a safeguard measure will be in the public interest, shall take into consideration the following factors, among others: i) whether the imposition of the provisional measure will result in a political or economic crisis; and ii) the extent to which such imposition will cause a shortage of the product under consideration in the domestic market, Section 6. Initiation of Action Involving General Safeguard Measure. — Any person, whether natural or juridical, belonging to or representing a domestic industry may file with the Secretary a verified petition requesting that action be taken fo remedy the serious injury or prevent the threat thereof to the domestic industry caused by increased imports of the product under consideration.The petition shall include documentary evidence supporting the facts that are essential 10 establish: a, an increase in imports of like or directly competitive products; b. the existence of serious injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry; and ©. the causal link bebveen the increased imports of the product under consideration and the serious injury or threat thereof. The Secretary shall review the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence adduced in the petition to determine the existence of a prima facie case that will justify the initiation of a preliminary investigation within five (5) days from receipt of the petition. The Secretary may also initiate action upon the request of the President; or a resolution of the House or Senate Committee on Agriculture, or House or Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce. In the absence of such a petition, the Secretary may, motu proprio, initiate a preliminary safeguard investigation, if there is evidence that increased imports of the product under consideration are a substantial cause of, or are threatening to substantially cause, serious injury to the domestic industry. The Secretary may extend legal, technical and other assistance to the concerned domestic producers and their organizations at all stages of the safeguard action. Rule 6, Initiation of Action Rule 6.1. Information and Other Forms of Assistance to the Domestic Industry: The Secretary and the Commission shall, upon request, make available to the public general information conceming the safeguard measure and other forms of trade remedies. Such information may include the procedures to be followed and the appropriate dates or milestones in the investigations related to the imposition of such measures. The Secretary and the Commission shall also provide, to the extent possible at all stages of the action, assistance and advice to interested parties which seek to obtain the remedies and benefits of the safeguard measures, such assistance and advice to include the following:Rule 6.1.2 Information on import volumes and values, at the specific product level; Rule [Link] legal and technical advice on the appropriateness of invoking the safeguard measure as a remedy for the trade problem, and on the availability of information in support of the proposal Rule 6.1.c. Information to all concerned parties that receipt of these forms of assistance shall not be construed as a guarantee that the recipient will prevail in the investigation for the application of safeguard measures. Rule 6.2. Petitioners Rule 6.2.. Any person whether natural or juridical, belonging to or representing a domestic industry, may file a written application using a proforma protestant's questionnaire which shall include evidence of _i) an increase in the volume of imports of the like or directly competitive products, ii) the existence of serious injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry; and ili) causal link between the increased imports of the product under consideration and the serious injury or threat thereof. The applicant shall submit four (4) copies of the application, including annexes, two (2) copies of which shall contain the non-confidential summaries of the information submitted, Rule 6.2.b.A properly documented application shall contain relevant evidence and information reasonably available to the applicant on the following: i. identity of the applicant and a description of the volume and the value of his domestic production of the product under consideration; information on his percentage share to total domestic production; ii, a list of known domestic producers of the product under consideration and , if possible, a description of the volume and value of domestic production of the product -7-vi vii. vill under consideration accounted for by such producers, if the application is made on behalf of the domestic industry; complete description of the imported product under consideration, specifying the Harmonized System (HS) Code under which such product is classified, the present tariff rates (MFN and preferential rates), and the complete description of the like or directly competitive domestic product concerned; names of the countries of export or origin of the product under consideration; identity of all known foreign exporters or producers of the product —_ under consideration, or their duly authorized representative organizations; list of known persons importing the product with their last known addresses; information on the volume and value of imports’ and other relevant industry data, for the last five (5) years preceding the date of application, to support allegations of the consequent impact of the increased importation of the product under consideration on the domestic industry demonstrated by relevant factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the domestic industry as enumerated in Rule 12 of these IRRs; statement on the form and duration of the safeguard measures sought; statement of the efforts being taken and/or to be taken, by the domestic industry (including other concerned parties) to make a positive adjustment to import competition. " Information on the volume and value of imports shall include those products imported duty-free and those importations made by the government -8-Rule 6.2.c. If provisional safeguard measures are sought, petitioner must show that critical circumstances exist which warrant the imposition of such provisional relief. In addition to the information mentioned above, the petitioner must also submit the following; i, statement requesting for the imposition of a provisional measure; ii, impact on the domestic industry if imports continue within the next sixty (60) days of the filing of the petition; and iii, statement on the form and amount of provisional measure sought by the industry. In the case of agricultural products, the type of measure and the rate or level sought, where applicable. In the case of non- agricultural products, the type and rate of tariff sought. Rule 6.2.d. The application shall inciude a certification signed by the applicant that the information presented therein is accurate and complete to the best of his knowledge. Rule 6.3. Procedures for Filing Rule 6.3.a. The petition shall be filed with the Secretary of Trade and Industry in the case of a non-agricultural product, or with the Secretary of Agriculture in the case of an agricultural product. Rule 6.3.b, The Secretary shall preliminarily screen the application if the following conditions are met i. The application is signed; ji, All relevant questions are answered or the reasons for the absence of information are given; and iii, ‘The attachments to the application are complete. Rule 6.3.c. Failure to supply all the information sought in the application will lead to the non-acceptance thereof. ‘The Secretary shall check the consistency of the