WHEREAS, at its Meeting on 11 November 1998, the Tariff Related Matters (TRM) Cabinet Committee approved the transfer of popcorn and grain sorghum from the CEPT Sensitive List to the Inclusion List;

WHEREAS, at its Meeting on 19 August 1999, the NEDA Board approved the acceleration of the CEPT rates on eight hundred fifty (850) tariff lines to 0-5% and likewise decided on the unification of the CEPT rates on extracted tariff lines to facilitate the implementation of the AFTA-CEPT on said products;

WHEREAS, the 13 th AFTA Council Meeting and the 31 st ASEAN Economic Ministers ™ Meeting held in Singapore on 29 September 1999 and 30 September 1999, respectively agreed that ASEAN Member Countries shall prepare the legal enactment to implement the schedule of tariff reductions of products transferred from the Temporary Exclusion List (TEL) to the CEPT Inclusion List covering the period from 2000-2003;

WHEREAS, Section 402 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978 (Presidential Decree No. 1464), as amended, empowers the President, upon the recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority, to increase, reduce or remove existing protective rates of import duty, as well as to modify the form of duty.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA , President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. The articles specifically listed in Annex œA  (Articles Granted Concession under the AFTA-CEPT) hereof, as classified under Section 104 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended, shall be subject to the ASEAN Common Effective Preferential Tariff in accordance with the 2000-2003 schedule indicated in Columns 4-7 of Annex œA . The ASEAN CEPT rates so indicated shall be accorded to imports coming from ASEAN member states applying CEPT concession to the same product pursuant to Article 4 of the CEPT Agreement and its Interpretative Notes.

SECTION 2. In the event that any subsequent changes are made in the basic (MFN) Philippine rate of duty on any of the articles listed in Annex œA  to a rate lower than the rate prescribed in Columns 4-7 of Annex œA  such article shall automatically be accorded the corresponding reduced duty.

SECTION 3. The Margins of Preference (MOPs) accorded under the ASEAN Preferential Trading Arrangements (PTA) shall no longer be extended to any of the products listed in Annex œA  hereof.

SECTION 4. From the date of effectivity of this Order, all articles listed in Annex œA  entered or withdrawn from warehouses in the Philippines for consumption shall be imposed the rates of duty therein prescribed subject to qualification under the Rules of Origin as provided for in the Agreement on the CEPT Scheme for the AFTA signed on 28 January 1992.

SECTION 5. All Presidential issuances, administrative rules and regulations, or parts thereof, which are contrary or inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 6. This Executive Order shall take effect 1 January 2000.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 27th day of APRIL in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand.

(SGD.) JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Executive Secretary