Five Rivers Seeks Duties Imposed Under Antidumping Case
Five Rivers Electronic Innovations filed with the U.S. Customs Service to tap into duties imposed on direct- view TVs imported from China, as it moves to file a bankruptcy reorganization plan.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Five Rivers, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year after Philips pulled the plug on development of LCoS-based rear projection TVs, filed a request in July to receive tariff payments. It has received an extension on its deadline for filing a reorganization plan until late Oct., CEO Thomas Hopson said.
The request was filed under the so-called Byrd Amendment -- named after Sen. Byrd (D-W.Va) -- that Congress passed as part of the fiscal 2001 Agriculture appropriations bill. The law allows distribution of antidumping and countervailing duties to firms involved in the cases. Five Rivers with labor unions representing workers at Sanyo and Toshiba TV plants in Forest City, Ark., and Horseheads, N.Y., filed an antidumping complaint in May 2003. The International Trade Commission voted a year later to impose duties on direct-view TVs imported from China, including those marketed by Apex.
Five Rivers is expecting payment of millions of dollars, although the exact amount -- a critical component of Five Rivers’ proposed reorganization plan -- hasn’t been determined, Hopson said. The customs duty would be a “temporary Band-Aid” and Five Rivers must attract additional business if the plant is to remain open, Hopson said, noting he has had discussions with Chinese manufacturers. A U.S. Customs spokeswoman was unable to provide Consumer Electronics Daily a precise total for the duties by our deadline on Mon. “We know what’s been imported, but we don’t know how much has been collected,” said Hopson, who plans to enlist the support of Rep. Jenkins(R-Tenn.), as he seeks the tariff figures.
Meanwhile, Five Rivers resumed TV production in July after ending a contract with Samsung for the assembly of rear projection TVs, after Samsung transferred manufacturing to its facilities in Tijuana, Mexico. Samsung has cut its CRT-based rear projection TV line to 3 models -- 43”, 47” and 52” -- the largest being produced for NATM Buying Group members, Mktg. Vp Jim Sanduski said. Because of the loss of the Samsung contract, Five Rivers trimmed its workforce at the 1.1 million-sq.-ft. plant to 250 employees -- 170 production workers and 80 office personnel and technicians -- down from 377 in the spring, Hobson said. It continues to assemble TVs and printed circuit boards for Akai and EcoQuest International (air and water purifiers), respectively. A separate division, Creative Molding, provides plastic cabinet housings for Sony Wega 50-60” rear projection and a 36” direct-view set, although production of the latter is being discontinued, Hopson said.
In cost-cutting measures, Five Rivers has trimmed some salaried positions and renegotiated facilities leases with Taylor-White Mfg., Hopson said. It has subleased 80,000-90,000 sq. ft. at the plant as a warehouse for Bush Bros., a regional producer of beans, he said.
Filing for bankruptcy, Five Rivers listed $25.5 million in liabilities owed 215 creditors. The first 10 months of 2004, Five Rivers recorded $64 million revenue, down from $300 million 2 years earlier. Five Rivers was formed in 1997 after Taylor-White bought the factory from Philips. The plant was built in Greeneville in 1964 by Magnavox, which was purchased by Philips 10 years later. - - Mark Seavy