Trump tariffs may cause closure of last remaining US TV assembly plant

(June 28) Tariffs imposed by Trump threaten to drive the last remaining television assembly plant in the US out of business. Element Electronics based in South Carolina assembles TVs for Walmart with components from China.

New Trump proposal would put 25 per cent tax on Chinese goods

The Element plant opened in 2012. It supplies most of its TV's for Walmart's Made in America Initiative. However, the parts are made in China and tested and packaged in the US. The company also inserts memory boards into the TVs. The company notes on its packaging that the TVs are assembled in the USA. The Alliance for American Manufacturing that lobbies for domestic production has criticized the process as the TV itself is not made in the US.

A recent article describes the plant: "Element Electronics opened the plant in an old shirt factory in Winnsboro, South Carolina, in 2014, chiefly to supply televisions to Walmart for the retailer’s highly publicized buy-American campaign. It employs 250 workers."

The Element plant was scheduled to close last summer

The plant was ready to shut down last summer after Trump's initial tax proposal. At the time the 250 factory employees were told they were being laid off but then the Trump administration exempted TV parts from the tax eligible list, so the plant continued production.

The decline of TV manufacturing in the US

Reuters reports that the US had 150 TV manufacturers back in the the 1950s. Today most television sets come from Asia although 40 percent are imported from Mexico. If Trump decides to impose a tariff on Mexican goods this could help out Element.

A recent Reuters article notes: "Those sets had hundreds of parts and were often sold in wooden cases the size of kitchen stoves. A modern flat screen, by contrast, has 70% of its value packed into the glass panel, and production is now almost entirely in Asia."

Discussion with China expected at this weekend's G20 summit

China and the US are expected to have discussions on a trade deal this weekend at the G20 Summit. Meanwhile, Element is stockpiling parts from China to act as a buffer against the unknown. The remaining Element plant is mostly symbolic as it does not manufacture TV parts. If it is forced to close this will be mostly symbolic as well as it will have a minimal effect on the overall US economy. However, for the 250 employees who lose their jobs it will be far from symbolic.

Previously published in the DIgital Journal

New safety flaw found Boeing 737Max

(June 27) The US Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) which has been investigating the grounded 737 Max after two disastrous crashes that were caused by its on board systems has now discovered an unrelated safety flaw.

	1 of 2

Safety flaw discovered during simulator test

Reuters first reported on the new safety glitch: "The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has identified a new risk that Boeing Co must address on its 737 MAX before the grounded jet can return to service, the agency said on Wednesday. The risk was discovered during a simulator test last week and it is not yet clear if the issue can be addressed with a software upgrade or will require a more complex hardware fix, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters."

Boeing now faces new delays before the Max 737 can regain certification and begin flights again. Not only new software will be needed but there is the potential for hardware fixes also to be required.

The FAA confirms new flaw found

The FAA said, without elaboration: “The FAA recently found a potential risk that Boeing must mitigate.”

Bloomberg cites two sources said to be familiar with the matter that the data processing by a flight computer on the plane could cause it to dive in a manner that pilots had difficulty recovering from in simulator tests.

The Bloomberg article notes: "While the issue didn’t involve the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System linked to the two accidents since October that killed 346 people, it could produce an uncommanded dive similar to what occurred in the crashes, according to one person, who wasn’t authorized to speak about the matter."

Boeing stock hit by new problem

A recent CNN article notes: "Boeing's stock closed 2.9% lower, making it the worst performer in the Dow. The plane manufacturer has been struggling with the crisis surrounding its top-selling 737 Max airplane. The aircraft, which was involved in two recent deadly crashes and has since been grounded around the world, received an updated computer system. But a new flaw has been discovered while the new system was tested in simulator flights, CNN reported earlier Thursday."

Boeing pledge to cooperate with the FAA

Boeing told Bloomberg that it agreed with the FAA findings and was working to fix the newly discovered safety risk. This is happening as the company is also undertaking an expansive redesign of the software for the plane.

Previously published in the Digital Journal