LG Responds To Trump’s ‘Dumping’ Comment About South Korean Washing Machines

LG Electronics has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s comment on South Korean washing machine manufacturers, which came just a few days after LG’s neighboring rival Samsung began its operations in its South Carolina washing machine plant.

Trump made the remark on Wednesday during an interview with Reuters at the White House. “South Korea is destroying what was once a good job-producing business [by] dumping washing machines into the United States,” Trump said.

In response to Trump’s comment, LG’s Home Appliance & Air Solution Division President Song Dae-hyun said during a press conference Thursday: “We do not have any room for dumping in the U.S. market and are not dumping our products as we are manufacturing premium ones.”

“Due to strong restrictions by the U.S. government already, Korean firms have no room to dump. However, we are bracing for any decision on the safeguard issue,” Song was quoted as saying by Korea Herald.

South Korean manufacturers now interpret Trump’s comment as a sign of his stance on the safeguard issue. Trump has reportedly yet to decide if he is going to accept recommendations from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that will impose a safeguard measure on washers produced by Korean companies.

In light of Trump’s campaign promise of “America First” trade protectionism, the ITC announced last November its recommendations for the U.S. government that include slapping LG and Samsung with a 50 percent tariff rate should their large washer imports exceed 1.2 million units.

Moments after the announcement of the recommendations, Samsung and LG released press statements, expressing how the safeguard measure could affect their businesses and the U.S. market in general.

“Any extra tariffs will raise prices, provide fewer product choices and impair job creation at our South Carolina factory,” Samsung said at the time. On the other hand, LG pointed out in its statement that the measure will have a negative impact on U.S. consumers because their washer options will be limited.

Samsung and LG have since exerted extra effort to appease the situation and hamper the implementation of the measure. The two tech giants rushed the development of their U.S.-based washing machine plants. Samsung’s South Carolina plant already started operations last Saturday, while LG is doing its best to have its Tennessee factory up and running by the end of this year.

“If the U.S. does impose the sanction, the Korean firms’ positions in the U.S. market would be hurt, and their product facilities in the US may also be influenced as sales are likely to slow,” a South Korean industry official, who declined to be named, said this week.