WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump this week imposed safeguard tariffs on imported residential washing machines for the next three years, following the recommendations of the independent, bipartisan U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to provide relief to domestic manufacturers.
The ITC opened an investigation into residential washer imports last summer after Whirlpool Corp. filed a complaint that imports from Korea and Mexico were “dumped” in the United States at low prices from 2012 to 2016.
The ITC determined that the level at which large residential washers were being imported here was “a substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with the imported article.”
In the first year, 20% tariffs will be imposed on the first 1.2 million units of imported finished washers, increasing to 50% on all subsequent imports. In year two, it’ll be 18% tariffs on the first 1.2 million and 45% thereafter. Tariffs in year three will be 16% on the first 1.2 million and 40% thereafter.
Covered parts that are imported—such as cabinets, assembled tubs, and assembled baskets—face a 50% tariff in the first year, 45% in the second and 40% in the third (50,000 parts will be excluded in year one, 70,000 in year two and 90,000 in year three).
The tariffs will mostly hit Korean manufacturers such as Samsung and LG Electronics, as the ITC determined that imports from Canada and Mexico did not “contribute importantly to the serious injury, or threat thereof, caused by imports.”
“Our action today helps to create jobs in America for Americans,” Trump said prior to signing the proclamation on Tuesday. “It will provide a strong incentive for LG and Samsung to follow through on their recent promises to build major manufacturing plants for washing machines right here in the United States.”
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that LG will be raising prices on its washers in light of the new tariffs.
“This is a victory for American workers and consumers alike,” Whirlpool Corp. Chairman Jeff Fettig said in a press release. “By enforcing our existing trade laws, President Trump has ensured American workers will compete on a level playing field with their foreign counterparts, enabled new manufacturing jobs here in America and will usher in a new era of innovation for consumers everywhere.”
Whirlpool says it added 200 new full-time positions at its manufacturing plant in Clyde, Ohio, in anticipation of increased demand following a safeguard remedy decision.
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