NEC Loses Round in Trade Dispute

The Commerce Department issued a preliminary ruling that Japan’s NEC Corp. defied international anti-dumping agreements in its winning bid for a $35-million U.S. government contract to supply supercomputers. If upheld, the ruling could lead to penalty duties of between 27% and 454% on imports of Japanese supercomputers. An NEC spokesman called the decision “poppycock” and “beyond imagination.” In its ruling, Commerce accepted estimates by NEC rival Cray Research, of Eagan, Minn., that NEC provided 454% more than the value of the contract in its bid for weather forecasting computers. A final ruling is expected in August. A case before the Court of International Trade goes to trial Monday to decide on NEC claims that Commerce is biased in favor of Cray Research and therefore shouldn’t be deciding the case. Cray Research is a division of Mountain View, Calif.-based Silicon Graphics Inc.