China: from bras to tv's

[Eubulides <paraconsistent@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Chinese upset as US imposes TV tariffs

David Teather in New York
Wednesday November 26, 2003
The Guardian

Chinese trade officials said yesterday that they were "gravely concerned"
by a US decision to slap tariffs on imported televisions.

The US commerce department ruled that TVs being made by four Chinese firms
were being sold in America at less than fair value and announced duties
between 28%-46%. The Chinese commerce ministry reacted angrily. A
statement said the decision amounted to "serious discrimination" and
"unfair treatment" of the firms.

The comments raised fears of further retaliatory action. A trade mission
to US cotton, wheat and soya bean growers by Chinese buyers planned for
next month has already been cancelled after the US last week moved to curb
the import of Chinese textiles.

The US government is coming under increasing pressure from domestic
manufacturers and labour unions to act on China and the issue is likely to
be a crucial one in next year's presidential election.

US firms and labour unions argue that the American manufacturing base is
being devastated by free trade agreements with China, where costs are
lower and regulations less stringent. The Chinese currency is also pegged
to the dollar, which economists argue keeps it artificially low. US TV
makers and unions said that imports from China and Malaysia had soared
from 210,000 units in 2000 to 2.6m last year.

One company affected by the tariffs, Sichuan Changhong Electronic, said it
was surprised by the allegation of dumping. "All of Changhong's exports to
the US have reasonable profit margins," it said.



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To this day, no one has come up with a set of rules for
originality. There aren't any. [Les Paul]