Modifying The Rates Of Duty On Certain Imported Articles As Provided For Under The Tariff And Customs Code Of The Philippines (TCCP), As Amended, In Order To Implement The Philippine Tariff Commitments On Certain Products Included In The Sensitive List And The Transfer Of Certain Tariff Lines From The Sensitive Track To The Normal Track Under The Association Of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – China Free Trade Area (ACFTA)

MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 72

MODIFYING THE RATES OF DUTY ON CERTAIN IMPORTED ARTICLES AS PROVIDED FOR UNDER THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES (TCCP), AS AMENDED, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE PHILIPPINE TARIFF COMMITMENTS ON CERTAIN PRODUCTS INCLUDED IN THE SENSITIVE LIST AND THE TRANSFER OF CERTAIN TARIFF LINES FROM THE SENSITIVE TRACK TO THE NORMAL TRACK UNDER THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN) – CHINA FREE TRADE AREA (ACFTA)

WHEREAS, the ASEAN Member States and the People’s Republic of China (“The Parties”) signed the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Co-Operation (“Framework Agreement”) on 04 November 2002 in Cambodia;

WHEREAS, Articles 2(a), 3(1) and 8(1) of the Framework Agreement reflect the Parties’ commitment to establish the ACFTA covering trade in goods by 2010 for the ASEAN 6 (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) and China, and by 2015 for the newer ASEAN Member States of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam;

WHEREAS, to achieve the objective of the...

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Summary of Executive Order No. 72

Reduction of Tariff Rates on Articles in the Sensitive List
- Articles listed in Annex A, classified under Section 104 of the TCCP, shall be subject to the rates of import duty indicated in Columns 4-10 of Annex A. (Section 1)
- The tariff rate reductions are in accordance with the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) agreement, which requires ASEAN-6 and China to reduce tariff rates on the Sensitive List to 20% by 2012 and 0-5% by 2018. (Preamble)

Transfer of Articles from Sensitive to Normal Track
- Articles listed in Annex B, classified under Section 104 of the TCCP, shall be subject to the ACFTA rates of import duty indicated in Column 4 of Annex B. (Section 2)
- This means these articles are being transferred from the Sensitive Track to the Normal Track under the ACFTA agreement.

Applicable ACFTA Rate
- For China and the ASEAN 9 (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam), the applicable rate shall be the ACFTA rate, subject to the submission of the proper Certificate of Origin (CO) Form E. (Section 3)
- The Tariff Commission may issue tariff classification rulings to confirm the applicable rates of duty for particular products. (Section 3)

Rules of Origin
- All articles listed in Annexes A and B shall be subject to compliance with the Rules of Origin as provided for in Article 5 of the ACFTA Trade in Goods Agreement. (Section 4)

Trade Remedies
- The Philippines reserves the right to invoke trade remedy measures provided for in its laws, the ACFTA Trade in Goods Agreement, and other relevant international agreements, as a device against import surges. (Section 5)

Repealing and Separability Clauses
- All issuances inconsistent with this Executive Order are repealed, amended or modified accordingly. (Section 6)
- If any provision is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions shall remain valid and subsisting. (Section 7)

Effectivity
- This Executive Order shall take effect immediately upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation. (Section 8)