THE European Union and seven Chinese television set makers are in talks on levels for a quota and minimum prices ahead of formal access to the E.U. market, two domestic companies said Friday. Asian-made TV sets seeking entry to the E.U. have faced duties of up to 44.6 percent for well over a decade, which effectively priced them out of the market. However, the European Commission and seven Chinese TV makers have signed an agreement dropping antidumping duties against Chinese TVs within a quota, provided a minimum price level isn’t violated, a commission spokeswoman in Beijing said Thursday. This is a big step toward reopening that market and offering an outlet for overproduction in China, which in the past led to price wars which have caused massive losses for some.Officials at TCL International Holdings Ltd. and Skyworth Digital Holdings Ltd. said Friday the next step would be for their TV-making units and that of five other consumer electronics makers to agree on the detailed requirements. Discussions would cover the annual quota and minimum prices applied to the seven makers in China by the E.U., Skyworth’s marketing Director Finsen Yu said. People close to the discussion added that the quota might be around 400,000 units a year, shared by the seven companies. The E.U. TV market currently has potential annual sales of 40 million units, according to analysts. “The exact quota is not finalized yet but we understand that the amount should grow incrementally each year,” Yu said. Regarding the minimum prices, they should vary according to different product features, he said. Any imports above the quota set in the agreement will still be subject to the antidumping duty, said the spokeswoman. The spokeswoman added that a violation of the minimum price by even one of the seven TV makers would be a breach of the agreement and would affect all the companies involved in the agreement. The seven companies are TCL King Electrical Appliances (Huizhou) Co., Skyworth Multimedia International (Shenzhen) Co., Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electric Co., Haier Electrical Appliances Corp., Hisense Import & Export Co., Konka Group Co. and Sichuan Changhong Electric Co.“This could be a positive trend in the longer term but China TV producers will still benefit little in the near term,” TCL spokeswoman Shirley Yau said. Currently there is no fixed timetable domestic TV sets can gain formal entry to the E.U. under the new rules. Nevertheless, TCL and Skyworth have begun preparing for a renewed attempt at cracking the E.U. market. Yu said Skyworth had been developing new TV products aim- ed at European consumers in the past several years, while Yau pointed out that TCL had long been liaising with potential European partners over possible joint ventures. (SD-Agencies)