BENTON HARBOR — Whirlpool Corp. is asking the federal government to slap duties on washing machines made in China by South Korea-based Samsung and LG, saying its Asian rivals is “dumping” the machines in the United States — selling them below cost.
In a statement, the Benton Harbor company said: “The petition outlines a long-term, repeated pattern of pricing below cost by Samsung and LG that is injuring American washer manufacturers and threatening American manufacturing jobs.”
The government determined in an earlier trade dispute that the Asian companies had been dumping machines in the U.S. that were made in South Korea and Mexico. As a result, those washers were hit with duties of between 9 and 13 percent. After that 2013 case, Whirlpool says the companies simply continued the illegal practice from another country.
“Simply put, beginning in 2013, Samsung and LG replaced their dumped washers from Korea and Mexico with dumped washers from China,” said Marc Bitzer, Whirlpool president and COO. “Since then, Samsung and LG have blatantly ignored a previous U.S. government order by continuing to dump washers into the United States.”
The current petition covers full-size top-load clothes washers and full-size front-load clothes washers. It also includes washer components for large residential clothes washer cabinets, tubs, baskets and drums.
Whirlpool Corp. filed this petition seeking enforcement of United States and international trade laws. To learn more about the previous case, visit www.WhirlpoolCorp.com/fair-trade.
Whirlpool’s Clyde, Ohio plant is the world’s largest washer manufacturing center. It also exports 10 percent of the washers it makes to meet the needs of families around the world. This investment in Ohio includes 10,000 employees, $1.6 billion in supply chain spending, and $7.4 billion in manufacturing spending. Whirlpool has 22,000 employees in the U.S., 15,000 in nine manufacturing plants across the country.
Whirlpool also has more than 20,000 employees in Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Anhui provinces of China.