In a petition filed with the government on Wednesday, Whirlpool alleged that Samsung and LG have grabbed a larger share of the US market by selling washers at less than they cost to produce, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The petition covers top-load and front-load washing machines made in China and sold in the US.
The petition from Whirlpool has come less than three years after the US Commerce Department imposed duties of about 9% to 13% on washers made by those companies in Mexico and South Korea for export to the US. Whirlpool says in response, LG and Samsung shifted production to China to avoid the duties.
A Samsung spokeswoman said the company was confident US authorities would find it hadn’t violated trade rules. Meanwhile, LG representatives did not respond to WSJ requests for comment.
Using estimates of production costs, the Commerce Department will rule on whether the Korean companies are dumping these products, or selling them at unfairly low prices. It is expected that the Commerce Department will make a preliminary ruling by July 2016.
The International Trade Commission would determine whether the pricing practices are injuring Whirlpool and other US manufacturers.
Whirlpool estimated in its petition that the washers made by LG and Samsung in China accounted for 31% of the US market in this year’s first nine months, up from 6% in 2012.
“Samsung and LG replaced their dumped washers from Korea and Mexico with dumped washers from China,” Whirlpool said.
F&P accused Korean giants for dumping
In 2000, the Ministry of Economic Development launched an investigation into claims that Korean-manufactured refrigerators and washing machines were being dumped on the New Zealand market.
This story first appeared in Appliance Retailer.