Whirlpool Seeks Duties on LG, Samsung Clothes-Washer Imports

12 years ago

By William McQuillen

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Whirlpool Corp., the world's largest maker of appliances, asked the U.S. to impose duties on clothes- washer imports from rivals LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. for violating international trade laws.

LG and Samsung sell residential washers made in Mexico and South Korea for less than the products' fair value, undermining competition and threatening U.S. jobs, Whirlpool said in complaints filed today in Washington with the International Trade Commission and the Commerce Department. Whirlpool also sought countervailing duties against imports from South Korea, saying that countryÃ¯Â¿Â½s government provides unfair subsidies.

"It is important for an open global trading system to have a process for enforcement to maintain the integrity of the system and provide all manufacturers a level playing field on which to compete," Marc Bitzer, president of Whirlpool North America, said in a statement.

LG is reviewing the petition, spokesman John Taylor said in an e-mail.

"LG strongly rejects any suggestion that it has sold clothes washers at dumped prices or that it has been unfairly subsidized," Taylor said. "LG intends to vigorously defend itself against these baseless claims."

Ethan Rasiel, a Samsung spokesman, said in an e-mail that he declined to comment.

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Comments (8)

housefairy
12 years ago
Well I am very anti Whirlpool. After a run in with their customer service over a newly designed Maytag refrigerator (they had just acquired Maytag) they are off my buy list. I have an older Whirlpool branded dishwasher that I wished I had went with my first choice and bought the Bosch. For a top of the line Kitchen Aid, it is a cheaply built unit.

And yes I bought a Samsung washer/dryer a few years back. Had to call their customer service when it was a few weeks old. Had a squeak that they resolved in a timely manner. Even called after the service to make sure I was satisfied. So this Christmas I purchased a Samsung TV.

So I guess I'm saying I wonder if part of the reason they are having problems selling their products is their prior customers are unhappy and jumping ship.
lee676
12 years ago
> LG and Samsung sell residential washers made in Mexico and South Korea for less than the products' fair value, undermining competition and threatening U.S. jobs

I'd laugh this case right out of court if I were the judge. It's not as though Whirlpool hasn't shipped most (all?) of their washer manufacturing to Mexico or overseas themselves over the last 15 years.
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deeageaux
Original Author
12 years ago
The smaller Whirlpool Duet and Maytag Performance washers are made in Mexcio(formerly Germany).Other Laundry products made at two facilities in Ohio.

In any event,these "countervailing duties" laws are designed to protect white collar as well as blue collar jobs from "unfair" competition.
livebetter
12 years ago
"It's not as though Whirlpool hasn't shipped most (all?) of their washer manufacturing to Mexico"

In an attempt (IMO) to give consumers the lower prices they want.
deeageaux
Original Author
12 years ago
I thought people were going to comment that Whirlpool thinks current price levels for laundry machines are artificially low due to the Korean companies dumping product here.

What is the "fair" price for a front load 4.0 cu ft HE washing machine? $1749?
lee676
12 years ago
I was at Home Depot today, they were selling LG top-load washers for $1200. That's "dumping"?

LG and Samsung are pursuing the same strategy that Whirlpool is: build distinctively-styled washers in atypical colors at just above cost, and try to sell a "matching" dryer (since the old white one wouldn't look right next to the fancy new washer), and make the profits on the dryer that's sold way above cost, almost as much as the washer, even though the dryer feature set on the blue or green $1000 dryer is similar to that found on the similar basic white dryer sold at $500. Nothing illegal about that.
weedmeister
12 years ago
I thought the Samsungs were made in the US. Am I confusing them with Bosch?
nerdyshopper
12 years ago
I personally am fed up with US manufacturers that closed US plants to use cheap (slave?) labor overseas. I think those products should be sold exclusivly overseas and US producers that kept their production home rewarded. The best mechanism for that is tariffs. I say punish them all, including Levis and Nikes. Then the cost of liveng would rise to where it should have been if US still had a manufacturing industry.

Whirlpool Seeks Duties on LG, Samsung Clothes-Washer Imports

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housefairy

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Whirlpool Seeks Duties on LG, Samsung Clothes-Washer Imports

Comments (8)

housefairy

lee676

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livebetter

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