Shi Zhengping, head of Changhong's export department said that as early as last April, the company made a preliminary decision to appeal the EU's anti-dumping charges and recently made a formal decision. Changhong and eight other major Chinese color TV manufacturers will hire lawyers together and share the costs.

Changhong has just began selling its TVs in the EU market. It is still in the sample distribution phase but the EU put Changhong its anti-dumping list last November.

In November 1999, EU decided to levy a 44.6% anti-dumping tax under the excuse that Chinese color TV manufacturers sold TVs at prices under cost in the EU market, shutting Chinese color TVs out of the market.

Experts said that retail price of China's color TVs sold in the EU was much higher than it is in China. The EU doesn't understand the cost structure of Chinese companies and put a discriminatory tariff on Chinese TVs.

The EU color TV market has a capacity of 25 million sets annually and needs 10-15 million sets to meet the demand. This is undoubtedly a tempting market for the Chinese color TV industry, which is desperately trying to expand its international market.

(People's Daily)