BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhuanet) -- China's government and TV-set makers plan to appeal a decision by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) which set new import duties.

Both manufacturers and the government are unhappy with the ruling which sets new tariffs on Chinese-made TV sets.

They plan to appeal the decision at the US Court of International Trade if the US International Trade Commission does not support them.

The DOC slapped import duties of 24.48 per cent on Sichuan Changhong, China's largest TV maker; 22.36 per cent on TCL; 11.36 per cent on Konka; and 4.35 per cent on Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic Co (Xoceco).

The final rates are not as high as what the DOC had originally threatened to impose.

In a preliminary ruling last November the DOC said it would impose import duties of 27.94 per cent for Konka, 31.35 per cent for TCL, 31.7 per cent for Xiamen Overseas, and 45.87 per cent for Changhong.

The four companies were selected as respondents by the US Department of Commerce in an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese-manufactured colour TV sets because it does not have the resources to investigate every company.

Nine other domestic TV-set makers including Haier Group, Hisense Electric, Philips Consumer Electronics, Skyworth Digital Holdings, SVA Group, Starlight International Holdings and three subsidiaries of Xinghui likely faced duties of 21.49 per cent.

Companies that did not respond will be imposed a high rate of 78.45 per cent.

The duties are not final until the US International Trade Commission rules on whether the US television industry has been hurt by the imports. A final decision is expected on May 27.

An official from the Bureau of Fair Trade for Import and Export of China's Ministry of Commerce, said the DOC decision is not a true reflection of local companies' operation, even if it did lower anti-dumping rates.

"The DOC unfairly refused to recognize China's TV manufacturing industry as market-oriented despite the widely known fact that they are operated in a market economy and compete fiercely," the official said.

Fu Donghui, a lawyer from the AllBright Law Office, said the US department's refusal is not a complete surprise. The DOC has never granted market status to a Chinese industry.

Fu, who worked with the US law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, managed to lower Xoceco's rate from 31.7 per cent to 4.35 per cent by finding faults in DOC's calculations.

Among other things, the DOC calculated transportation costs from Xoceco to the shipping port using air freight costs while the two are just 2 kilometres apart, Fu said.

(China Daily)