Whirlpool calls out Samsung and LG for illegal dumping (again)

Whirlpool Corporation has filed an antidumping petition against Samsung and LG for their alleged practice of dumping washers into the United States.

The petition, which was filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission, details the manufacturers' alleged history of pricing appliances below cost.

The petition is a sign of renewed focus on the issue of illegal dumping. In a separate case, Whirlpool had issued a statement in January 2014 stating that it was concluding its involvement in the refrigeration appeal over LG and Samsung's illegal appliance trade activity, having felt satisfied with bringing the issue to the government's attention.

The appliances in question include full-size top-load clothes washers and full-size front-load clothes washers, as well as certain washer components for large residential clothes washer cabinets, tubs and baskets/drums.

"Simply put, beginning in 2013, Samsung and LG replaced their dumped washers from Korea and Mexico with dumped washers from China," said Marc Bitzer, president and COO for Whirlpool Corporation. "Since then, Samsung and LG have blatantly ignored a previous U.S. government order by continuing to dump washers into the United States. At Whirlpool, we know that open, rules-based trade ensures the highest level of innovation and choice for consumers. Our ability to innovate, invest and continue to manufacture here in the U.S. is undermined when foreign competitors willfully defy U.S. government rulings. We have continuously monitored this situation during the past several years and have spent the past several months preparing this petition as the next step in an ongoing effort to prevent this serial dumping."

According to Whirlpool, Samsung and LG were found to be illegally dumping residential clothes washers exported to the U.S. from South Korea and Mexico in 2013, but rather than abide by trade remedies (or higher tariffs) approved by the U.S. government, the companies merely moved their production facilities to China and continued their dumping practice.

Whirlpool anticipates having a preliminary antidumping determination in July 2016, with the U.S. Department of Commerce expected to release its final determination that following December. In January 2017, the U.S. International Trade Commission is expected to release its final determination regarding injury to the U.S. clothes washer industry caused by the dumped imports

Whirlpool's history with LG and Samsung goes back several years. The courts initially sided with Whirlpool but then changed tracks, ruling that dumping had not caused material injury to American manufacturing. Whirlpool later appealed the decision and won.



At the time of the initial ruling, Samsung had stated that it was “disappointed that the Commerce Department continues to use discredited methodology” to calculate its antidumping margins.