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TELEGRAM NUMBER CREDA 38 OF 16 FEBRUARY
INFO SEOUL, BTC HONG KONG
YOUR CREDA 18: KOREAN TV IMPORTS
THIS TELEGRAM
WAS NOT
ADVANCED
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(T+D].
DOT-CRE. (T+1)
NAD FED
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TRED
1. USTR SAY THAT A VISA SYSTEM FOR EXPORTS TO THE US HAS BEEN USED FOR JAPAN, AND KOREA AND TAIWAN, IT HAS OPERATED DIFFERENT FOR
EACH CASE
2. ON EXPORTS FROM JAPAN, THE VISAS WERE ISSUED BY THE JAPANESE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION FOR EACH ORDER. THESE WERE ACCEPTED BY THE US AS THE OFFICIAL COUNT AGAINST THE LIMITS SET IN THE US/JAPAN OMA,
THE SYSTEM ALSO HAD A SET QUOTA FOR NON-VISAED TV IMPORTS, A PROBLEM
AROSE BECAUSE US IMPORTERS WERE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE VISA PAPERS
BECAUSE THEY COULD BRING IN TVS WITHOUT THE VISA, IT WAS PRIMARILY THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT TO TRACK DOWN VISA
PAPERS AND FORWARD THEM TO THE US, AS WELL AS TO KEEP AN ACCURATE
COUNT OF TV EXPORTS THAT THE SYSTEM FUNCTIONED EFFECTIVELY. IT IS NO
LONGER IN OPERATION AS THE OMA HAS EXPIRED.
2. UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM FOR KOREA AND TAIWAN, THERE ARE SET QUOTAS FOR EACH COUNTRY. THE OFFICIAL COUNT IS MADE BY US CUSTOMS AT THE PORT OF ENTRY. WHILE KOREA MAY ISSUE VISAS FOR ITS OWN PURPOSES, THEY ARE IRRELEVANT TO THE US, KOREA ACCEPTS THE US CUSTOMS COUNT AS THE OFFICIAL COUNT. NON-VISAED TV EXPORTS FROM KOREA ARE ADMITTED INTO THE US AND ARE COUNTED AGAINST THE KOREAN
QUOTA, THERE IS NO SEPARATE QUOTA FOR NON-VISAED TVS.
3, USTR SAY THAT THERE IS GENERALLY A LARGE DISCREPANCY SETWEEN THE US AND KOREAN FIGURES ON EXPORTS TO THE US. ACCORDING TO USTR, THE KOREANS ARE NOT PARTICULARY CAREFUL IN THEIR ACCOUNTING METHODS.
4. USTR HAVE USED TWO MEANS TO AVOID TRANSHIPMENT PROBLEMS, THE