DTI: Manufacturers want extended safeguards on imported angle bars

To protect the steel angle bar industry from rising import costs, among other things, industry players want to extend the safeguard measures on imported angle bars, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Monday. Local manufacturers say the extension of the safeguard measure remains necessary to "redress serious injury arising from increased imports," the DTI said in a statement. In 2009, the safeguard measures that the government granted were P7,700 per metric ton on angle bars and, the following year, P5,133 per metric ton. The measure was intended to expire in March 2012. The law allows the imposition of a safeguard measure for a maximum of 10 years. The World Trade Organization Agreement on Safeguards also allows developing member-countries, such as the Philippines, to impose safeguard measures for up to 10 years. DTI data show that imports of steel angle bars peaked at 38,767 metric tons in 2007, up from its 2006 volume of 15,193 metric tons. Steel angle bars refer to angle-shaped steel used for trusses, roof frames, steel frames, and steel structures of billboards, transmission towers, bridges, and other structures. Its end-users are companies that construct houses, condominiums, malls, and infrastructure projects. — PE/RSJ, GMA News