Steel importer Mannage Resources Trading Corp. received the support of Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in its bid to bring in deformed steel reinforcement bars from China amid opposition by a local steel group.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry director for intellectual property Jesus Varela said Mannage had asked the assistance of the chamber against industry group Philippine Iron and Steel Institute.
“We decided, together with [our vice chairman] Donald Dee to help Mannage. The company got all the approvals of the government. If the shipment failed to go through the market given the documents it has, this will set a dangerous precedent for importers who have everything in order,” Varela said.
Varela said all pertinent documents were signed and within regulation, including the final import commodity clearance issued by the Trade Department’s Zambales regional director.
Varela said the provisional ICC issued by the Trade regional office prior to the final ICC was a legal document given to an incoming shipment that would subject the commodity to quality test.
“If the commodity passed the test, it is issued the final ICC,” he said.
Mannage, owned and operated by young entrepreneurs, is also partly owned by an iron mining company in Zambales that decided to stockpile the iron when global prices went down and instead sent the stockpile to China for processing and subsequent re-export to the Philippines.
He said it was the first time the company decided to engage into processing outside the Philippines and export back the same shipment that was already processed into steel products.
“They just want to test the market. Five thousand metric tons is a drop in the bucket. It wanted to get the approval of the Philippines Quality Standards so it can bring in quality rebars at very competitive rates,” he said.
Pisi earlier questioned the quality of the steel shipment and the lack of proper documents such as import entry and ICC and company logo.
The shipment, which arrived in April, contained 500,000 pieces of rebars with 12 mm diameter and 12 meter length at an estimated value of P95 million.
Pisi asked the Trade Department to invalidate the ICC and suspend any activities of the Trade Department regional office in Zambales and the Bureau of Product Safety in the region in relation to the said shipment.
The group initially brought the case to the attention of the government, claiming it would protect consumers from substandard steel products.
Mannage filed a case against former Customs commissioner Alberto Lina before the Ombudsman for issuing a halt and seizure order and said it would file a libel case against Pisi president Roberto Cola.