The US accused Chinese companies of dumping televisions on the US market and slapped stiff duties on the products in the latest flare-up in trade tension between the two economic giants.
The US Commerce Department ruled on Monday that televisions from four Chinese firms were being sold in the US at less than fair value and announced provisional anti-dumping duties of 28 percent to 46 percent on the sets.
The ruling follows a US decision last week to limit imports of some Chinese textiles and added to tension between the world's biggest and fifth biggest trading nations, fanning fears in Asia that the US was growing more protectionist.
US television makers and unions complained that imports from China and Malaysia had mushroomed to 2.65 million sets a year last year from 210,000 two years earlier. No ruling was made on Malaysian televisions.
"Dumping can seriously injure or destroy an entire industry," Tom Hopson, the president of Tennessee television maker Five Rivers Electronic Innovations, said in a statement.
"US workers lose jobs when employers are forced to compete with unfair imports, which pressure US manufacturers to lower prices in what is typically a futile attempt to maintain market share," he said.
Booming Chinese factories have become important suppliers to major US retailers such as Wal-Mart, boosting the US trade deficit with China to a record US$103 billion last year.
US officials have pushed China to increase the value of its yuan, to take pressure off US manufacturers who blame Chinese competition for the loss of millions of jobs.
Some analysts say they expect a series of trade skirmishes with China ahead of US elections late next year. President George W. Bush's re-election bid could be determined by a clutch of manufacturing states.
Other US industries -- including iron pipe and bedroom furniture makers -- have also sought protection under anti-dumping laws.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS