Kelley Drye Attorneys Score a Victory for the U.S. Color Television Industry

Washington, DC -- Kelley Drye’s international trade section handed a victory to its color television industry clients today when a U.S. trade panel gave final clearance for the imposition of antidumping duties on imports of color televisions (“CTV”) from the People’s Republic of China (“China”). David Hartquist and Larry Lasoff served as lead counsel.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) voted unanimously that the U.S. television industry was materially injured by the dramatic surge in television imports from China over the past three years. The vote jump-starts the collection of anti-dumping duties averaging 23% on the CTV imports.

Kelley Drye client Tom Hopson, President of Five Rivers Electronic Innovations, a CTV manufacturer in Tennessee, expressed his approval of the ITC vote, noting We are very pleased with the decision. While U.S. manufacturers, hardest hit by the 2001 recession, are finally getting back on firmer footing, over the past three years we have had to cope not only with hard economic times at home and abroad but also with a flood of low-priced imports.” Hopson then added, It’s interesting to note that the most current trade statistics indicate that March imports of consumer goods, which include CTVs, reached an all-time high of $31.3 billion.”

Kelley Drye filed the unfair trade petition on behalf of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America, and Five Rivers Electronic Innovations in May 2003. The petition contended that CTV imports from China are sold in the U.S. at prices below what it costs to produce them in-country, also called dumping” or selling at less than fair value.

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Kelley Drye’s Washington, DC office solves competitive problems for Fortune 500 companies, privately held corporations, government entities, and trade associations in the U.S. and abroad. The firm has over 100 attorneys and professionals practicing in the following areas: Advertising and Marketing, Antitrust and Competition, Technology, Environmental, Government Relations and Public Policy, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Litigation, and Trade Associations.