BENTON HARBOR, Mich.,
Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously that a
surge of large residential washer imports from Samsung and LG have
seriously injured American manufacturers and workers. The vote was
part of a section 201 safeguard petition Whirlpool Corp. filed
earlier this year to stop Samsung and LG from repeated country
hopping to evade U.S. trade laws.
"The ITC vote is an important win for American manufacturers and
American workers," said Jeff M.
Fettig, chairman of Whirlpool Corp. "For the third time
since 2013, the ITC has found that Samsung and LG engaged in
unlawful conduct by violating U.S. trade laws. This vote sets the
stage for the administration to put in place an effective remedy to
create a level playing field for American workers and
manufacturers. This type of corrective action will create U.S.
manufacturing jobs."
The ITC will vote on a remedy in November before making an
official recommendation to the president in December. The safeguard
petition applies to finished large residential washing machines as
well as major parts, including the washer cabinet, assembled washer
tubs and assembled washer baskets. This scope ensures Samsung and
LG are not able to circumvent the eventual remedy by establishing
what are known as "screwdriver operations," a facility that
assembles major parts delivered to it from overseas for final
assembly, rather than a full product manufacturing plant in
the United States.
Case Timeline:
October 19: Remedy hearing
─ ITC hearing on proposed remedies to address serious injury to the
U.S. washer industry from Samsung and LG's increased washer import
volumes.
November 21: Remedy vote ─
The ITC votes to determine what relief to recommend to the
president to address the serious injury that Samsung and LG's
increased washer import volumes have caused the U.S. washer
industry.
December 4: Remedy
recommendation ─ ITC transmits its written remedy recommendation to
the president. Such relief may include a tariff, quantitative
restrictions, or a combination of tariff and quota (i.e.,
tariff-rate quota, or TRQ).
The president will then have approximately two months to
consider ITC's recommendations and to fashion a remedy that he
deems most appropriate.
Background on the Safeguard Petition:
A safeguard petition is the only effective means available to
the U.S. Government to address Samsung and LG's pattern of cheating
through country hopping. The U.S. Government previously applied
country-specific antidumping remedies to Samsung and LG for washers
made in South Korea, Mexico and China. In contrast, this safeguard remedy
addresses imports from Samsung and LG—wherever they are made
outside the United States—that cause serious injury to U.S. washer
manufacturers. Whirlpool Corp. filed the petition to ensure fair
competition and to enable U.S. manufacturers to continue creating
jobs, investing in new facilities and funding research that drives
innovation to benefit consumers.
Samsung and LG's Pattern of Country Hopping to Avoid U.S.
Trade Remedies:
- In 2013, the U.S. Government found that Samsung and LG were
unlawfully dumping South Korean and Mexican washers into
the United States.
- The two companies responded by moving washer production to
China to continue their illegal
dumping behavior.
- In late 2015, Whirlpool Corp. filed a new petition to address
the Samsung and LG production now coming from China. In reaction, Samsung and LG immediately
began stockpiling product into the United
States and moving their production again—this time to
factories in Vietnam and
Thailand.
- Earlier this year, the U.S. Government issued a new antidumping
order against Samsung and LG in China. But the two companies already had made
great strides in their second end run around U.S. trade laws and
have continued their assault on American manufacturers and
workers.
- On May 31, Whirlpool Corp.—led by
2,464 of its more than 3,000 Clyde,
Ohio, manufacturing employees—filed a safeguard petition
with the U.S. ITC to end this pattern of serial country-hopping to
circumvent these trade orders. More than 50 Clyde employees made
the trip to Washington to attend
the ITC safeguard hearing on Sept.
7.
About Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is the number one major
appliance manufacturer in the world, with approximately
$21 billion in annual sales, 93,000
employees and 70 manufacturing and technology research centers in
2016. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul,
Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, Indesit and other major
brand names in nearly every country throughout the world.
Additional information about the company can be found at
WhirlpoolCorp.com, or find us on Twitter at @WhirlpoolCorp.
Whirlpool Corp. Additional Information
Certain statements in this press release relating to the
safeguard petition and the expected timing for resolution and
benefits to the company constitute "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements
reflect management's current expectations regarding future events
and speak only as of the date of this press release.
Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and
uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future
performance and will not necessarily be accurate indications of
whether or not, or the times at or by which, events will occur.
Actual performance may differ materially from that expressed or
implied in such statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from these expectations
include, among other things, the risk that the timing for
resolution of these matters may be significantly delayed, that our
petition may not be successful, and that we may not realize
expected benefits following resolution of our petition. In addition
to these risks, reference should also be made to the factors
discussed under "Risk Factors" in Whirlpool Corporation's periodic
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
based upon what are believed to be reasonable assumptions,
investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent
with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be
material. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date
of this press release and, except as expressly required by
applicable law, Whirlpool Corporation assumes no obligation to
update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.
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SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation