Non-Tariff Trade Barriers in Action: New “Standard” for Laptop Power Adaptors
by Brendon Carr
I saw the following story in the Dong-A Ilbo’s English edition today. This is a prime example of how Korea Inc. adopts its own unique standards in collusion with (or, perhaps, over the objections of) domestic manufacturers in order to disadvantage foreign manufacturers. It’s easy for the domestic companies, which make their entire market here in Korea, to engineer specifically for local “standards”, but for foreign makers—who might have market shares of less than 1% here in Korea and whose worldwide sales don’t exactly depend on Korea—it’s very difficult to justify the expense of a special product just for this country.
And voila!, the foreign companies may be magically kept away without any directly “discriminatory” practices. Check this out:
Notebook users may no longer have to carry a power adapter in their bag from as early as 2009, because laptop power adapters are set to be standardized.
Different standards for notebook AC adapters by each manufacturer and product model have always been cause for great inconvenience.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) announced Wednesday that it has gauged public opinion on the matter for more than one year and has established “The Standard for Portable Notebook PC Power Adapters.” The KATS will hold its first public hearing on the issue on Thursday.
“We plan to apply the standard from January 2009, after completing the notification and enactment process by the end of this year,” said Song Yang-hoi, a senior official of the KATS. “We are also considering determining the new standard as a Korean Industrial Standard (KS) and enforcing mandatory acquisition of the Electrical Appliances Safety Certificate for all laptop power adapters.”
Once it becomes compulsory to manufacture standardized laptop power adapters, people will be able to use other people’s adapters, similar to the standardized adaptors of mobile phones. Another advantage is that customers will not have to purchase an additional power adapter when purchasing a notebook.
Thus far, customers have no choice but to buy a power adapter, which cost about 50,000 won, every time they purchase a notebook, due to incompatibility between the power adapters of various models.
Laptop manufacturers have opposed standardization, noting that it will restrict the freedom of developing a variety of models and that it will be difficult to find out who is responsible for accidents if they occur due to the use of low-quality power adapters.
However, the KATS recently completed the draft standard by persuading six domestic computer manufacturers - Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Trigem Korea, Daewoo Lucoms, Jooyon Tech, and Hyunju Computer - to comply. Moreover, the standards agency said that foreign companies, such as Intel, Lenovo, and HP, have also showed positive responses to its plan.
The standardized power adapter for 14-inch LCD notebooks has an output of 60 watts and 19±1 voltage. The size of connecters has also been standardized to a diameter of 6.5±0.1mm and a length of 9.5±0.3mm.
The Telecommunication Technology Association also plans to announce standards for the mini-chargers and earphone jacks for slim cell-phones on November 8.
I hope that the next generation of laptops doesn’t need more than 60 watts. My MacBook, luckily, only needs a 60-watt adapter, so I can keep on using it—but the MacBook Pro takes 85 watts. What’s that you say? The power supplies for MacBook and MacBook Pro use Apple’s patented and superior MagSafe connector? Oh well, guess Apple ought to engineer a special Korea-only plug for all its laptops.
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Apple’s notebook power adapter mag-safe connection is the most innovative in the world. It may even be the most significant advance in adapter connections since the notebook was invented.
Those who don’t know what a Mag-safe adapter is can see a picture at the page below:
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/design.html
I wonder if Apple was even consulted by this standards body. I certainly don’t think they would have been “persuaded” to adopt an inferior standard…
I offer Apple merely as a glaring example of whose ox is gored by this kind of heavy-handedness. There are a lot of laptop makers who may be constrained by the 60-watt limit, not just Apple. To my understanding, the power supply is the last thing engineered on the laptop, once the power requirements are known.
Also, one of the premises reported as offered by the Agency is just plain false: I’ve bought a lot of laptops, in the States and in Korea, and don’t recall being forced to separately purchase a power adapter. There has always been one in the box. Maybe they’re suggesting that the inclusion of a new power adapter in the box with every new laptop is duplicative.
I do like the MagSafe connector and think it would be unfair to deny me and other consumers the option to use it just because some ruling group of busybodies decided to set a standard because they could.
In this respect I am reminded of WIPI, which limits consumers’ choices for mobile-phone PDAs with Internet services. It’s easy for Samsung, with its dominant market share here, to spread the cost of engineering for WIPI across millions of devices sold each year—less so for a new foreign entrant, who might shift only a few thousand.
Deliberate non-tariff trade barrier or happy accident? Maybe just a coincidence, but I don’t think there are a lot of tears being shed over at the Ministry of Information and Communication over another foreign company getting screwed.