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LOCAL
steel manufacturers fear that they are in danger of
being wiped out by an expected import surge from
China
once steel is given preferential access to the country
under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-China
free-trade agreement (FTA).
A
ranking Board of Investments official said the different
groups of steel makers in the country have sent a
position letter indicating their concern over the
inclusion of steel on the list of products covered under
the regional FTA.
The
official, requesting anonymity, said the manufacturers
fear that once the 2008 Olympics is over, the
construction fever in China would likely taper.
With
this, the demand for steel in China would also go down,
prompting the steel manufacturers there to look for
other countries where they could dump their products.
At this
time, the official said China’s production capacity for
steel is about 300 million tons per year.
“So
imagine if they would just dump 10 percent of that. That
is already 30 million tons,” the source said.
He said
this is still larger than steel production in the
Philippines, where annual production is only 4 million
tons.
The
official said the government is now finding a way to
help steel manufacturers survive the onslaught of
globalization since the industry is vital to the
economy.
“We
should really be helping the steel industry. We are
spending trillions [of pesos] for our infrastructure
projects, and steel and cement already cover 50 percent
of the cost,” the official said.
In the
2007 Investment Priorities Plan, iron and steel have
been listed among the priority sectors where government
incentives will be given to new projects.
The
official said the
Philippines
should not be dependent on other countries when it comes
to steel.
In
Vietnam, the source said, the government is still
supporting its domestic industry even if its annual
production is already at 6 million tons. |
