For consumers and workers.
Last week, US president, Donald Trump announced that he will impose a 50% tariff on imported washing machines into the US. Samsung Electronics America has responded to the announcement with the following statement.
“This announcement is a great loss for American consumers and workers. This tariff is a tax on every consumer who wants to buy a washing machine. Everyone will pay more, with fewer choices.
“Samsung greatly appreciates the support of the many South Carolina and other officials who have advocated on our behalf. We already have hired more than 600 US workers at our new South Carolina factory and we began US production of our high-quality washing machines on January 12, 2018. Consumers are choosing Samsung premium washing machines for their innovation and design,” the statement read.
Euromonitor consumer appliances industry manager, Hye Min Song said the biggest impact of the washing machine tariff would be on South Korean manufacturers, Samsung and LG.
“They both recently increased their market share significantly within the US major appliances market, giving chase to domestic players such as Whirlpool with their price competitiveness. Given their share in the market, the magnitude of the impact will be greater than other foreign players,” she said.