The World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 11 January announced that on 20 December 2018 the Philippines had notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards of its decision to initiate a safeguard investigation on ceramic floor and wall tiles, classifiable in tariff subheadings 6907.21, 6907.22, 6907.23, and 6907.40.
The investigation was initiated on the basis of evidence submitted by the ceramic tile industry that increased imports of ceramic floor and wall tiles are a substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry in terms of declining market share, production, sales, capacity utilisation, incurred losses, price depression and undercutting.