Element TV Brand Says USTR Should Keep Finished TVs From China on Tariffs List
Element Electronics, which bills itself as the only company assembling LCD TVs in the U.S., wants the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to stand firm in its proposal to levy 25 percent tariffs on finished flat-panel sets imported from China, the company said in comments. Element’s support for keeping TVs imported from China under the HTS 8528.72.64 subheading on the USTR’s proposed tariffs list puts the company at odds with Best Buy (see 1804240062), the Consumer Technology Association (see 1804260053) and Roku, all of which oppose the tariffs and are asking the office to remove that TV product line item from the list.
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Roku worries that if 25 percent tariffs are imposed on Chinese-sourced TVs imported under the 8528.72.64 subheading, “that would not only hurt Roku's TV brand licensees, it could also impact Roku itself,” it commented. “A decrease in the sales volume of Roku TVs could adversely impact the licensing revenues that Roku receives from its Roku TV brand licensees.” The company said tariffs on Roku TVs “could have the unintended consequence of harming -- rather than protecting and encouraging -- a U.S. innovation leader, and putting U.S. leadership in this important, evolving technology at risk.”
Though Roku licenses TV operating systems to Element smart TVs, its far bigger client is TCL North America, which imports virtually all its TVs from China. TCL North America nevertheless is unfazed at the threat of tariffs because the company is nimble enough to shift production elsewhere if tariffs ultimately come into play, Senior Vice President Chris Larson told us. TCL runs 23 TV factories throughout the world, including a facility in Tijuana, where it runs an original design manufacturing plant that services Latin America and could be pushed into alternative production for North America if the need arises, Larson said. The company also is eyeing secondary TCL sourcing from plants it runs in Indonesia and Vietnam, he said.