Trade Cases
USITC: Washing Machine Imports Hurting U.S. Manufacturers
Written by Sandy Williams
October 8, 2017
Increased imports of foreign-made washing machines into the U.S. are causing serious injury to the domestic industry, said the U.S. International Trade Commission in an Oct. 5 determination.
Under Section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974, the commission voted 4-0 in the global safeguard investigation that was prompted by a petition from Whirlpool Corp. earlier this year. Under Section 202, the commission must also make determinations regarding the imports of the product from countries with which the U.S. has free trade agreements, such as NAFTA. Chairman Schmidtlein, Vice Chairman Johanson, and Commissioners Williamson and Broadbent made negative findings with respect to imports from Canada and Mexico and all other FTA countries.
The findings and recommendations for action will be forwarded in a report to the president by Dec. 4. The president will make the final decision on whether to provide relief to the domestic industry and what kind of remedies to apply, including in respect to imports from FTA countries.
This determination is important to the steel industry not only because of the steel content used in washing machines, but also as a test of how far the administration will go to protect U.S. industries from foreign imports.
In January, Commerce imposed final antidumping margins ranging from 32.12 percent to 52.51 percent on large residential washing machines from China. In February, the ITC posted an affirmative preliminary injury determination on residential washers from Korea and Mexico. Whirlpool was also the petitioner in these investigations.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Trade Cases
US and Canada expect positive outcomes from tariff negotiations
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that they’ll be formulating a trade deal that works for both nations.
Leibowitz: When the shutdown should end
There is no doubt that the current government shutdown reflects the vast divisions between the extremes of American politics, society, and even geography. Almost all Americans agree that government is necessary, but voters disagree...
Price: The U.S. Steel shutdown that wasn’t and a call to stop ‘valuation cheating’
How can the U.S. government block U.S. Steel’s Granite City rolling mill closure without harming other American steelmakers? Reducing imports should be the first step. Foreign producers continue to aggressively target the U.S. market, especially now as they find themselves displaced by Chinese exports.
US steel industry applauds ITC final determination in coated trade case
Domestic mills praised the US International Trade Commission’s (ITC's) final determination that imports of corrosion-resistant (CORE) steel from 10 countries pose a threat to them.
ITC’s final ruling: Dumped, subsidized CORE imports are harming domestic market
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) finds that corrosion resistant steel (CORE) imports from 10 countries have caused material damage to domestic product producers, according to the ITC’s statement.