Plastic industry asks government to scrap tariff on resins

MANILA, Philippines - The plastic industry is asking the government to eliminate the tariff on plastic resins in order to make the local industry competitive.

In a letter to Tariff Commission (TC) chairman Edgardo Abon, Philippine Plastic Industry Association (PPIA) president Alfonso Siy said that reducing the MFN tariff rates on plastic resins to zero percent will make up for the negative effect brought about by the implementation of an executive order which removed the tariff for finished plastic goods.

Siy said that the government should also look at the angle to reduce the MFN tariff on plastic resins to help the local plastics industry in times when there are not enough supply of polyofelins from other ASEAN countries. This means that plastic makers will have to import plastic resins from non-ASEAN countries like China at 15 percent.

“If this happens, it will put our local products at a great disadvantage against the influx of imported ASEAN finished goods coming into our domestic market at zero percent tariff while we purchase our raw materials from MFN at 15 percent tariff,” Siy said.

Siy explained that protecting the industry against losing the local market share to ASEAN neighbors and with other trading countries importing cheaper plastic finished in the country will benefit more than 278 plastic member manufacturers and more than a 1,000 aggregate plastic converters nationwide.

He also said that it will protect the more than 50,000 direct workers employed with a combined 500,000 direct and indirect workers dependent on our operations.

The zero tariff regime of Executive Order 850 would negatively affect the plastic finished goods with the entry of cheaper and tariff less imports like tableware, kitchenware, other household and toilet articles of plastics; office and school supplies; ornamental articles; grain storage and others; other plate sheets; bath, shower-baths, sinks, wash-basins, etc; articles of apparel and clothing accessories and safety and protective device against hazardous elements self adhesive plates, sheets, films, foil, tape strip and other flat shapes, of plastic; monofilament; builder’s ware of plastics; tubes, pipes hoses and fitting; floor covering plastics; articles of conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics; stoppers, etc; transmission or conveyor belts or belting, and other- articles for industrial use.