Malaysia opposes EU levy on color TV sets

Malaysia opposes EU levy on color TV sets

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia has hit out at an anti-dumping levy imposed by the European Union on color television sets produced in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian states, local news reports said yesterday.

"The duties are based on the allegation that we sell (in Europe) at a price below the local selling price," Rafidah Aziz, Malaysia's international trade and industry minister, was quoted saying.

"The duty imposed by the EU is high as the differences between the constructive prices and the real prices are wide and inaccurate," Rafidah said.

Constructive prices are the minimum costs estimated in producing the color television sets, while real prices are the commercial value calculated by manufacturers.

She said television set makers from outside the European Union (EU) which exported their entire production overseas have been hit by high levies ranging from 13.5 to 23.4 percent of their targeted price since Oct. 1.

The duties on dumping -- selling at below cost price -- were calculated based on the constructive price of the sets, and not their real value as the sets were not sold in the countries in which they were produced, Rafidah said.

Hit

An EU journal released on Oct. 1 said two Thai-based color television makers, Goldstar Mitr and World Electric, had been hit by hefty anti-dumping duties of 24.3 and 13.5 percent, respectively.

The companies were assembling their units from "Malaysian-made kits", the journal said.

Three other leading television manufacturers in the region -- Maconca Electronics, Orient Electronics and Techno Silver -- had levies of between 7.5 and 12.5 percent imposed on them.

Maconca controls about 3.5 percent of the world television market while Orient has a factory in Malaysia's southwestern Malacca state.

Local electronics industry sources said the levies were only expected to have a minimal effect on Malaysian television manufacturers, as they had been shifting from the European market over recent years.

About 90 percent of color televisions made in Malaysia ended up in the EU in 1991 and 1992, but the figure fell drastically last year with only about 50 percent of the sets heading for the EU.

"It is a good thing that many companies began diversifying following the recessionary conditions in Europe," said a trade source.

Color televisions were originally allowed to enter the EU duty-free under EU generalized system of preferences.

Rafidah said manufacturers in the region had, however, sent representatives to the EU to indicate their disappointment over the levies.

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and have made our representation to the EU to indicate our concern to the authorities there, so we will await the outcome," Rafidah said