Private-Public Efforts
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics submitted their written opinions to the U.S. government to refute the report of the USITC on Korea washers.
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) advised President Donald Trump to adopt safeguards on Korean washing machines on December 4. One week later, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics submitted their written opinions to the U.S. government to refute the report of the USITC. Both Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are currently preparing for a public hearing scheduled for January 3, 2018 at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
The written opinions are to claim that the safeguards proposed by Whirlpool are unfair and object to tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). On November 21, the USITC announced a TRQ recommendation to impose an import tariff of up to 50% for three years on large washing machines when the amount exceeds 1.2 million units.
The South Korean government is also expressing its opposition to the safeguards in the U.S. government and Congress. “We are doing our utmost so that the countermeasures we prepared with the private sector can be implemented in the United States,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy explained, adding, “The countermeasures include the responses recently prepared in addition to the previous ones although details of the recently prepared ones cannot be disclosed yet.”