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Friday, March 29, 2024

Steel import permit recalled

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The Trade Department recalled the import commodity clearance granted earlier to Mannage Resources Trading Corp. to ensure the quality of steel imports in the Philippines

The company earlier used the permit in shipping in 20,000 metric tons of imported Chinese steel bars to the Philippines. 

Trade regional director Judith Angeles and Bureau of Philippine Standards Assistant director and officer-in-charge Marimel Porciuncula informed Mannage president Lawrence Daniel Sy on December 8, 2016 about the recall of the permit, documents showed.

The Trade Department said the withdrawal aimed to ensure that shipment and further imports would meet the laws, rules and standards required for traceability, quality and safety. 

The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute, the umbrella organization for the local steel industry, was partly relieved by the decision of the Trade Department to recall the import certification.  

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Pisi president Roberto Cola said withdrawal was “in the interest of public safety” and in line with the government and industry’s policy of strictly enforcing the mandatory standards for steel products.  

The recall and stricter implementation of mandatory standards is beneficial to the consuming public as it can lead to stopping the proliferation of uncertified or substandard steel bars in the market.  

PISI’s investigations on the October 2013 earthquake in Cebu and Bohol revealed that substandard and uncertified steel bars were used in the damaged buildings and infrastructure.  

“The Philippines is located in an earthquake zone and typhoon area, so the best disaster prevention is to prevent sub-standard mandatory steel products from being sold in the market” Cola said. 

Cola added the local industry “welcomes stricter implementation of standards to be applied to both locally manufactured and imported steel products for the benefit of the Filipino consumer.”

Mannage was also involved in a controversial shipment of 5,000 tons of imported steel bars in May 2016, which were ordered held by Subic customs officials for lack of permits and a legitimate import clearance certificate.

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