DTI imposes stricter standards on steel products

The Trade Department vowed to help legislators investigate the alleged proliferation of substandard steel in the local market following the passage of House Resolution 379.

“We welcome this call and shall fully cooperate and support the investigation to be conducted in order to ensure that the public will not be harmed by substandard construction materials,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

He said for regulated steel products such as rebars and angle bars, the agency placed stricter standards and intensified monitoring and enforcement of both imported and locally-manufactured products.

These new guidelines include increasing the sample size for product testing, checking the Philippine Standard mark and standards of local manufacturing plants and inspections at different stages of transport, such as pre-shipment, post-shipment, and audit in retail.

“We heightened the campaign against substandard products because it is not safe for consumers and unfair to local manufacturers who will face cheap competition. This, in turn, may shrink the country’s manufacturing base and lead to job losses. Clearly, smuggling substandard steel is detrimental to the mission of the agency,” Lopez said.

Lopez said the department further intensified its monitoring and enforcement activities for steel products. 

The Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau issued 61 notices of violation against erring establishments found distributing non-conforming steel products while the Bureau of Philippine Standards heightened factory surveillance activities and created composite teams conducting surprise factory surveillance audits.

The BPS conducted 14 factory visits involving 19 PS licenses for steel products. During these visits, samples were randomly drawn and submitted to the Metal Industry Research and Development Center testing laboratory for independent testing.

The BPS also suspended two PS licenses of factories found producing non-conforming steel products. A total of 57,250 pieces of non-conforming steel bars with an estimated value of P6.5 million were destroyed.

The team conducted 52 factory surveillance audits with eight more factories due for surveillance and/or surprise audits within the year.

It said that since 2017, the DTI implemented stricter technical regulations both for locally manufactured and imported cement products. 

All cement imports are subjected to regular verification and critical testing on a per shipment, per bill of lading basis while regular surveillance activities are likewise conducted for local manufacturers.