CLYDE, OH (WTOL) - There's bipartisan support in congress for a move being made by President Trump.
Both Republican Senator Rob Portman and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown applaud the news of tariffs being imposed on commercial washing machine imports.
Senator Brown said in an interview Wednesday that Korean companies like LG and Samsung have been manipulating the washing machine market for years, and these tariffs will directly benefit the northwest Ohio area.
A decision by the International Trade Commission stated that imported products from Korea were a substantial cause of injury to domestic manufacturers.
This new decision will impose 20 percent tariffs to the first 1.2 million large commercial washing machines imported into the US, and a 50 percent tariff to any following machine.
Senator Brown said the tarrifs will level the playing field for Whirlpool, which builds their washing machine lines right here in Northwest Ohio in Clyde. He also adds that Whirlpool could not compete equally against the foreign competition, because those companies had found ways of artificially lower their import costs.
"Have far too many times subsidized their products and their companies by discounting the cost of land, or water, or energy, or capital or whatever. You can't compete with that, because it is not a level playing field. When the playing field is level, the best washing machines in the country can be made in Clyde, Ohio," said Brown.
In a statement on Wedensday, Senator Brown said Whirlpool expects to create 200 new jobs following the decision.
"This is a great day for American workers in Ohio and beyond," said Whirlpool Chairman Jeff M. Fettig. "Today's announcement sends a strong message that the U.S. government will crack down on companies that violate our trade rules. We thank and congratulate members of the Ohio delegation for making such a strong stand on behalf of the more than 3,000 workers at the Whirlpool facility in Clyde, Ohio, and the thousands more whose livelihoods depend on that plant."
Though some consumer reports have predicted the tariffs will have a negative impact on consumers, Brown said the added economic impact for Whirlpool workers will have a bigger positive effect for Northwest Ohio.
"The communities gain, businesses workers and other communities gain. And I don't really buy that argument that the free traders make. The people who make those arguments are the same people that brought us NAFTA, and brought us most favored nation status with China, and I just think they're wrong," said Brown.
The Trump administration will be imposing even higher tariffs on solar panel imports as another aspect of these import tariffs.
First Solar would not comment, but Senator Brown said those tariffs should benefit us locally as well.
