When the US is wielding anti-dumping cudgel

Home>>Opinion

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 02, 2003

When the US is wielding anti-dumping cudgel

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

The America's anti-dumping cudgel may force Chinese color TV enterprises to face a bumpy road along the way to the international market. But the setback will help them get stronger and better prepared to weather the risks in the world market.

Americans are holding high the anti-dumping cudgel. A report from the US Department of Commerce on Nov. 24 ruled that China is dumping its color TV-sets into the US market. Manufacturers involved in this initial verdict are all Chinese mainstays in color TV industry, including Changhong, Xiahua, Konka, and TCL. For China's color TV industry on the strategic road of internationalization and merely reaping a marginal profit, this is beyond doubt an ordeal for it.

"This is the initial, not the final verdict though, we'll try our best to answer the lawsuit. We are not committed to any dumping activities. We are going to fight for a positive result of the final verdict." This is the aspiration of most of the Chinese color TV producers accused by the US of dumping activities. Our enterprises keep an actually sober mind. On June 16 this year, the US International Trade Committee ruled with a 3 to zero vote that Chinese and Malaysian color TV- sets constitute a substantial damage to the US color TV industry. On July 22, the US Department of Commerce put the four Chinese color-TV giants, Changhong, Xiahua, Konka, and TCL under the special investigation. At that time, they had already got prepared to cope with the worst result. But the late-coming initial ruling still roused bitter dissatisfaction among big Chinese color TV producers.

This protest is logically reasonable. Color TVs exported from China to the US are mainly processing trade on materials largely imported from Japan, US and other countries and regions. In this case, a stringent anti-dumping verdict imposed as such on Chinese businesses would have been held fair only if the US also confessed that these countries are doing the same dumping of their color TV parts to China. In addition, the US practice of making India as a "substitute country" to count the prices of Chinese products is not in the least reasonable and incompatible with Article 15 of Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China and the WTO principles. It is a severe discrimination and unfair treatment of Chinese businesses.

To get deeper into the question, Japanese and European color TV companies have long been predominate in America's color TV market. The powerful expansion of Chinese TV-industry in the marketplace has put pressure on them. Wielding the weapon of anti-dumping campaign to keep China's color TV products out of this market will only benefit the Japanese and European companies. "This is the fundamental reason that lies behind the dumping case," said Yu Yongda, director of Economic Cooperation Institute, Tsinghua University.

What's more important is that the US move is not only targeted at the Chinese color TV enterprises nor mean to help its allies only. For the US to resort to its anti-dumping cudgel at this time has something unfathomable behind it. It is the complexity of the Sino-US relations that triggered off the extreme complication in trade disputes between the two countries. That the color TV industry is put under the spotlight this time is a presentation of such disputes. This year has seen seven anti-dumping cases that the US lodged against China with the value to amount to USD1.6b. This has seriously damaged the normal trade order between the two countries. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has expressed its great concern on this event and said: " We will pay highly attention to this case and continue negotiations with the department concerned of the US to protect the righteous rights and benefits of our color TV enterprises."

The affected Chinese color TV enterprises on the one hand pin their hopes on diplomatic efforts and concern and negotiations of the Ministry of Commerce while on the other, they are doing whatever they can for it. Aside from getting prepared for defending themselves in the lawsuit against them, they set greater store by upgrading their exports to offset the influence of the case on their business. Setting up manufactures overseas will prove to be an effective way. As there is no American color TV producers in the US proper, it will be a good choice for Chinese enterprises to set up plants outside China, say, in the US, to burnish their reputation. Tapping more effective channels to absorb China's domestic color TV production capacity will be able to help avoid some trade disputes.

Fortunately, just a few days ago, the National General Administration of Radio and TV Broadcasting declared that China is scheduled to stop analogue TV broadcasting by 2015. This means that a production surge of high definition digital TV sets will be around the corner. The existing 400m analogue TV sets will be replaced. The saturated domestic color TV market will welcome an era of sweeping upgrading. This carries a far-reaching significance to Chinese color TV producers who are struggling amid the brandishing of the US anti-dumping cudgels.

Also This has demonstrated to the international market including the American market that China represents a market of great potentials. As a matter of fact, any attempts to denying Chinese goods from access into the world market will vice versa block the way of their own products into the enormous Chinese market.

Chinese color TV manufacturers may suffer some losses under Americans' anti-dumping cudgel. But the setback will make them mature, thereby invigorating their vigor to survive and thrive amidst the risks in the world of games. In the meantime, the huge domestic market available in China offers a central stage on which no internationalized enterprises would lie down to lose. And this is also an ace that makes Chinese color TV industry irresistible in its course of development and internationalization.

Article from International Finance News and translated by PD Online staff member Lijia

Questions?Comments? Click here

Chemical anti-dumping charge dropped

TV makers fighting together over US anti-dumping tariffs

US urged to be fair in trade problems

>> Full Coverage

Two Japanese diplomats killed in Iraq identified ( 3 Messages)

Developing corporate culture is key to global strategy ( 3 Messages)

16 percent of Chinese wives beaten by husband: survey ( 4 Messages)

China ceases diplomatic relations with Kiribati ( 6 Messages)

Hillary Clinton arrives in Baghdad hot on heels of Bush ( 5 Messages)