Obama Refuses to Veto Import Ban on Samsung

President Obama refused to veto an import ban on older Samsung models. The South Korean company failed to get the same favor Apple received when it had a similar case.

The U.S International Trade Commission recently ruled an import ban for older version of Samsung smartphones. Samsung appealed to President Obama to veto the decision on grounds of public policy saying that it was similar to the overturned import ban it issued in favor of Apple in August.

However, the U.S President denied the request. "After carefully weighing policy considerations, including the impact on consumers and competition, advice from agencies, and information from interested parties," U.S trade representative Michael Forman said in a statement.

The Suwon, Korea based company raised that the decision was made with political bias. Samsung apokesperson Adam Yates commented that this "will serve only to reduce competition and limit choice for the American consumer."

Foreman however said that Samsung being a foreign company from South Korea had "no role in the review process." The official statement also said that "Both Samsung and Apple are important contributors to the U.S. economy and help advance innovation and technological progress."
Apple representative Kristin Huguet refused to comment in the issue.

The recently vetoed import ban on Apple was on "Electronic Digital Media Devices" while Samsung's case is about "of Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, and Tablet Computers."

The Apple case that was supposed to ban iPhones involved a certain standard that is widely used in the mobile gadget industry while Samsung's case involved two Apple-patented features found in older Samsung models. These were patents for multi-touch and headphone jack sensor technologies.