Local TV makers expected they will have the opportunity to fully express their views at an anti-dumping hearing to be held by the US Department of Commerce next April.

The hearing will be next opportunity for them to prove their legitimacy after an investigation panel sent by the department finished its work in China.

The panel was sent to four local companies -- Sichuan Changhong Electric Co, Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic Co (Xoceco), Konka Group Co and TCL Holding Co -- earlier this month for on-the-spot check.

The four companies were selected as respondents by the department in its anti-dumping investigations into Chinese-manufactured colour sets as it does not have the resources to investigate all 12 companies who responded to the case.

On November 24, the department said in a preliminary ruling that some Chinese television makers were dumping their products at 27.94 per cent to 78.45 per cent of their real prices in the US market.

A spokesman from Changhong said the company showed its documents relating to production costs to the panel.

"But the panel had no comment on these documents,'' he said.

"We also provided documents to argue that it is unreasonable to choose India as the surrogate country, but they have no response,'' the spokesman said.

By defining China as a non-market economy, the US anti-dumping rules use costs of production in a surrogate country, where material and labour costs are much higher than in China, to calculate the normal value of Chinese exports.

This time, United States chose India as the surrogate country, despite the fact China's TV industry has a high degree of competition and is fully market-oriented.

The spokesman expected local TV makers could have good communication before the hearing and co-operate to prepare for it.

An official from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), who wished to maintain anonymous, said the chamber will have some arguments for calculating methods on the hearing and will organize TV makers to negotiate dumping margins with the United States.

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