(Telecompaper) Samsung has lost a bid to prevent a ban on the import to the US of some of its smartphones. The Korean company had been hoping that US President Barack Obama would use his veto right to overturn the ban resulting from a decision by the International Trade Commission in a patent dispute with Apple. "After carefully weighing policy considerations, including the impact on consumers and competition, advice from agencies, and information from interested parties, I have decided to allow" the import ban to proceed, the US Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement reported by Bloomberg. Samsung can still seek a delay in the ban from a US appeals court that will consider the entire case on legal grounds. Samsung has argued the ban should be overturned on public policy grounds, especially since a similar order it won against Apple's iPhone 4S was thwarted by a presidential veto in August. The import ban is on a limited number of products. The ITC said newer models by Samsung had worked around the two Apple patents in the case, which covered a multitouch feature and one for a sensor for headphone jacks.