![]() Wal-Mart executives say that number is only going to get bigger. Gereffi says if Wal-Mart were a country, it would be one of China's top-ten trading partners, buying more than $15 billion in goods last year. economy as much as they can in a wide range of industries."Ĭhina needs Wal-Mart to crack open the American consumer market, and Wal-Mart relies on Chinese factories to supply it with goods at unbeatable low prices. "And both are determined to dominate the U.S. ![]() "Wal-Mart and China are a joint venture," says Gary Gereffi, a Duke University professor who has studied big retail chains like Wal-Mart for years. Wal-Mart would not discuss this case, but some of Wal-Mart's largest television suppliers are Chinese companies. The ITC ruled against Wal-Mart and the Chinese. ![]() … Why would Wal-Mart testify to support jobs in China instead of American jobs, unless there was some benefit to them?" "Well, Wal-Mart chose the side of the Chinese," says Hopson, "and basically, Wal-Mart spent a lot of time and effort at the International Trade Commission hearings testifying against us and our case. Harquist and Hopson were prepared to take on the Chinese, but were surprised by their other opposition. … The government provides subsidies to Chinese producers at preferential interest rates that may not even have to be repaid."Ĭhinese TV makers denied the dumping charges. "The Chinese system has built-in advantages that no one else in the world has. "It's a rigged system," says David Harquist, the company's trade attorney. His company filed a trade complaint with the International Trade Commission charging the that Chinese companies were "dumping" high-end TVs onto the American market. "If we can't compete on a fair level playing field," says Hopson, "then we go out of business like anyone else."īut Hopson was convinced he was up against more than just free trade. WMT, -0. In three short years, Chinese TV makers grabbed a third of Hopson's market. The Chinese sets were selling for prices Five Rivers couldn't hope to match. Thomas Hopson, president of Five Rivers Electronics To overcome reduced foot traffic to physical stores caused by the pandemic, we used AR to drive sales of Walmarts outdoor summer furniture collection. ![]() … All of a sudden, they're shipping millions and millions of televisions, from China." "They just grew at an amazing rate," says Hopson. Then in 2001, Hopson says, the high-end television market came under attack from a flood of Chinese imports. And by focusing on quality, he could compete. The battle for the small TV set market was lost to foreign imports years ago, so Hopson steered his company toward high-end, big-screen sets. "Well, it's a constant struggle to survive, I mean it's a very competitive market," says Thomas Hopson, Five Rivers' president. It employs 940 workers in its Greenville Tennessee plant. An employee assembles a television at Five Rivers Electronics.įive Rivers Electronics is the very last American-owned TV manufacturer in this country. ![]()
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