On June 27, Timothy Appel, New York (Reuters)-
The trade war between the United States and China will once again close the last TV factory in the United States.
In the 150 s, there were 1950 television manufacturers in the United States, and factories and suppliers employed thousands of workers across the country.
The equipment, which has hundreds of parts, is often sold in wooden cases the size of a kitchen stove.
In contrast, the glass panels of modern flat screen make up 70% of its value and are now almost entirely produced in Asia.
There is only one American today. S.
It is more symbolic than substantive.
In 2014, elemental electronics opened the factory in an old shirt factory in Winsboro, South Carolina, mainly providing TV for Wal-Mart for widely publicized purchases by retailers.
American campaign.
It employs 250 workers.
All the TV sets in the factory are assembled from Chinese components.
Components are suitable for finishing work in South Carolina, such as the insertion of
printed circuit boards.
It also tests these sets.
Even most of the boxes and other packages come from China.
The label says, \"assemble in the US,\" not \"made in the US,\" although most consumers lose the distinction.
These TVs, mainly from China, have become the survival problem of elements for the second year in a row.
Last summer, President Donald Trump\'s administration announced it would impose tariffs on Chinese television components in many commodities affected by the deepening trade war between Beijing and Washington.
The additional cost of the tariff will mean that the plant will not be able to compete in price with television imports from Mexico and Asia.
Element calls for relief, arguing that these items should be removed from the tariff list.
The company announced that it would have to close due to increased tariff costs and informed its workers that they would be fired.
The factory stopped production, but the company won the final victory.
When the US government announced a moratorium on executionS.
The government removed the TV section from the list.
Finally, no workers were fired.
Now the tariff threat is back.
The Trump administration is preparing to impose a 25% tariff on Chinese goods worth $300 billion that are not covered by trade. war duties.
TV and parts are on the list.
The future of Trump\'s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a Group of 20 summit in Japan later this week may determine whether these tariffs will be levied.
At the same time, the future of the factory has been questioned again. \"We\'ll appeal -
Our lawyers will look at this, \"said Michael O\'Shaughnessy, chief executive of the company.
China is only part of the element trade problem.
Due to the tariff rules, the company is also struggling to compete with television importers from Mexico.
Television factories in Mexico also assemble parts from Asia.
Then these TVs are exported across the United States. S. border duty-
They were included in the North American Free Trade Agreement.
However, Element had to pay £ 4 before.
China imposes 5% tariffs on its main components
That responsibility existed long before Trump started a trade war.
Last year, Congress passed a bill exempting tariffs on many goods, including television components.
According to U. S. Data, about 40% of TV sets imported into the U. S. Have come from Mexico in recent years. S.
International Trade Commission
Paul Gagnon, an industry supply chain expert at research firm IHS Markit, said the business\'s margins are meager, so manufacturers are constantly looking for the lowest-cost locations for final assembly.
Elements have almost taken a boost from Trump\'s other set of trade tariffs. The U. S.
The president threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican goods in an attempt to force Mexico to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants, which could give components a huge price advantage over Mexican factories.
But Trump gave up the threat after Mexico promised to take steps to tighten the border.
O\'Shaughnessy said he supports the government\'s efforts to compete fairly with China and other trading partners and believes that businesses that create jobs in the United States should not face inferior parts simply because they rely on imports.
Meanwhile, for all TV makers, this is the busiest time of the year as they are preparing for a surge in holiday sales at the end of the year.
\"We are doing what we can do today to bring in more parts than usual, so we have a buffer against the unknown,\" o\'shawnesi said.
\"The company is continuing to recruit.
The company\'s goal is to have 300 employees at the end of the summer because the business is still strong and is growing, O\'Shaughnessy said. (
Timothy Appel, editor of Simon Webb and Bill Rigby, reports)
