Toshiba Shifting Laptops From Southland to Japan

Toshiba Corp. is shifting production of some of its most advanced laptop computers from Southern California to Japan because of changes in U.S. tariffs, company officials said Tuesday.

Other Japanese computer makers are expected to follow Toshiba’s lead and make their high-performance laptops in Japan rather than in the United States.

Many of the companies began making laptops in North America after the United States in 1987 imposed a 100% duty on advanced portable computers made in Japan.

Toshiba said it will begin shipping about 2,000 laptops with color screens to the United States each month. The exports will replace computers made at Toshiba’s Irvine factory, which has been producing 15,000 laptops a month, officials said.

The Toshiba corporate communications spokesman in Irvine did not return phone calls from the Associated Press.

An NEC Corp. official said his company also may resume export ing laptops from Japan.

The United States imposed the 100% tariff on Japanese portable computers with 16-bit or 32-bit processors to punish Japan for its alleged failure to comply with a semiconductor trade agreement.

Japan had pledged to stop selling chips at unfair low prices and to open its market to foreign semiconductors. The Bush Administration lifted the tariff in July, under a new semiconductor pact.

Another factor in Toshiba’s decision, company officials said, was a recent U.S. decision to impose a 62.67% tariff on Japanese active-matrix liquid crystal display screens, used in some laptops.

The U.S. Commerce Department wanted to penalize Japanese makers for allegedly selling the expensive screens too cheaply in the United States.

Critics say the tariff hurts U.S. makers who need the screens and is forcing them to move production of their best laptops overseas.