{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/brown-fights-for-thousands-of-ohio-whirlpool-workers-in-trade-case", "Brown Fights for Thousands of Ohio Whirlpool Workers in Trade Case", "2016-12-07", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "OH", "Sherrod Brown", "B000944", "www.brown.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "3,000 Whirlpool Employees in Ohio Would be Impacted by Today\u2019s Case; Foreign Manufacturers are Dumping Washing Machine Imports into American Market\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, December 7, 2016\n            \n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today testified on behalf of 3,000 Ohio Whirlpool workers at the International Trade Commission (ITC), which will determine whether cheap washing machine imports from China have unfairly hurt the domestic washer industry. Today\u2019s hearing will help the ITC make its final determination in the case.\r\nIn Sen. Brown\u2019s testimony, he urged the ITC to make a favorable determination to ensure that antidumping duties will be applied to Chinese washer imports.\u00a0He also urged the ITC to address the respondents\u2019 decision to move production to Vietnam and Thailand to avoid paying antidumping duties.\u00a0Samsung stockpiled washers in the U.S. in anticipation of the antidumping duties, and both Samsung and LG have moved production to Vietnam and Thailand.\u00a0In October, Brown wrote to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, along with Sen. Portman, asking Pritzker to address this pattern of serial dumping and duty evasion.\r\n\u201cThese Whirlpool workers know what good manufacturing jobs do for their local economy and how crucial those jobs are to supporting their families.\u00a0 Their presence at this hearing reminds us why enforcing our trade laws is so important,\u201d Brown said in testimony delivered at ITC today. \u201cWe fight for fair trade because we want to make sure our manufacturers and our workers are able to compete on a level playing field.\u00a0 That\u2019s what today\u2019s hearing is ultimately about: protecting middle class manufacturing jobs and defeating foreign competitors\u2019 efforts to close our factories.\u201d\r\nAs a result of an antidumping petition filed by Whirlpool in 2012, the Commerce Department imposed duties on Samsung and LG\u2019s washing imports from Korea and Mexico. The companies have since moved their production to China and continue to export washing machines to the U.S. market at unfairly traded prices. These imports from China are the subject of Whirlpool\u2019s current case.\u00a0\r\nWhirlpool employs a total of 10,000 workers in Ohio at facilities in Clyde, Findlay, Marion, Ottawa, and Greenville.\r\nFull text of Sen. Brown\u2019s testimony, as prepared for delivery, is available below.\r\nTestimony of Senator Sherrod Brown\r\nU.S. International Trade Commission Hearing on \r\nLarge Residential Washers from China\r\nInvestigation No. 731-TA-1306\r\nDecember 7, 2016\r\nChairman Williamson and members of the Commission, thank you for the opportunity to testify in this case regarding large residential washers from China.\r\nThe petitioner, Whirlpool, has 10,000 workers in the Ohio communities of Marion, Findlay, Ottawa, Greenville, and Clyde.\u00a0 They are a company that takes pride in manufacturing things here in America.\u00a0 And they employ 22,000 workers nationwide who take pride in making home appliances.\u00a0\r\nHome appliances like washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators and dryers that we all know and recognize because of their high-quality and prominent American flag labels.\u00a0\r\nWhirlpool has 3,000 employees at their Clyde facility, where they make some of these famous washing machines.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m pleased that 50 of the Clyde workers are here today.\u00a0 They know that the Commission\u2019s decision in this case could have a big effect on their jobs and their community.\u00a0\r\nMy colleague, Sen. Portman, is also here this morning.\u00a0 We both stand with them in their fight against unfair trade practices.\u00a0\r\nI offer this testimony on their behalf.\u00a0\r\nThese Whirlpool workers know what good manufacturing jobs do for their local economy and how crucial those jobs are to supporting their families.\u00a0 Their presence at this hearing reminds us why enforcing our trade laws is so important.\u00a0\r\nWe fight for fair trade because we want to make sure our manufacturers and our workers are able to compete on a level playing field.\u00a0 That\u2019s what today\u2019s hearing is ultimately about:\u00a0 protecting middle class manufacturing jobs and defeating foreign competitors\u2019 efforts to close our factories.\r\nThis trade case is an unfortunate sequel to Whirlpool\u2019s first washing machine petition.\u00a0 Four years ago, I testified against unfairly traded washers from Korea and Mexico, which were being dumped into the U.S. market.\u00a0 In that case, the Commission found that the domestic industry had been injured, and duties were applied.\u00a0\r\nThose duties helped to stem the tide of Korean and Mexican imports, but they didn\u2019t solve the whole problem.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we\u2019re back here today.\r\nEven before the final determination in the last case, Samsung and LG had relocated their factories to China to avoid paying higher duties and promptly resumed dumping into the U.S. market.\u00a0 Facing unfair competition once again, Whirlpool filed another antidumping case.\u00a0\r\nAnd here we are, asking the Commission to find for a second time that the domestic industry is being injured by these unfair trade practices designed to put Whirlpool out of business.\r\nThere\u2019s plenty of evidence that the U.S. washer sector is being injured, and I\u2019m pleased that your preliminary determination was affirmative.\u00a0 The findings from your preliminary decision are still true, and I hope they will inform your final determination. \u00a0\r\nAs your decision found, the \u201cvolume and increase in volume\u201d of washer imports from China are \u201csignificant,\u201d and those imports account for a growing share of U.S. consumption.\u00a0 Imports from China have captured \u201cmarket share from the domestic industry,\u201d and \u201cpervasive underselling\u201d by the foreign respondents has \u201cled to declining prices\u201d for U.S. producers.\u00a0 As a result, the domestic industry\u2019s financial performance has deteriorated.\u00a0\r\nBased on these findings, I urge you to vote in favor of the domestic industry and make an affirmative final determination.\u00a0\r\nThere is one other issue that the Commission must consider, and that is the critical circumstances in this case.\u00a0 As you know, sometimes foreign competitors will rush to stockpile imports in the U.S. after a trade case has been filed but before duties have been applied.\r\nThey do this to avoid paying antidumping duties.\u00a0\r\nWhen this happens, a finding of critical circumstances can be made, which allows duties to be applied retroactively for up to 90 days before the preliminary determination.\u00a0 Applying those duties to the stockpiled inventory helps to ensure these duty evasion efforts are not successful. \u00a0 \u00a0\r\nCritical circumstances exist in this case because Samsung rushed to import a large volume of washers before antidumping duties were applied.\u00a0 Commerce announced preliminary antidumping duties against Samsung and LG on July 20th.\u00a0 Leading up to that date, Chinese washer imports nearly tripled between January and May.\u00a0\r\nBut immediately after Commerce\u2019s preliminary determination, washers from China were imported in very low numbers, and imports from Vietnam and Thailand began to grow quickly.\u00a0 These data reflect the fact that Samsung tried to get as many washers into the U.S. market before they were slapped with antidumping tariffs.\u00a0 And now both companies have moved production out of China.\u00a0\r\nSamsung and LG intend to continue this behavior until they put Whirlpool out of business.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why the critical circumstances determination is so important.\u00a0\r\nDuties collected on the surge of imports before Commerce\u2019s determination in July may be the only duties that are collected in this case.\u00a0\r\nWhen our foreign competitors do whatever it takes to cheat, we must do whatever it takes to fight back.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I urge you to make an affirmative critical circumstances finding.\u00a0\r\nIf we don\u2019t stop this game of whack-a-mole, these companies will succeed in increasing their share of the U.S. market and make it impossible for our American companies to compete.\u00a0 Whirlpool will continue to struggle against an onslaught of unfairly traded imports, and the workers in Clyde will continue to worry whether they\u2019ll have a job next year.\r\nThat\u2019s just not right.\u00a0\r\nThese workers make the best washing machines in the world.\u00a0 Their jobs are the backbone of Clyde.\u00a0 Failure to hold our trading partners accountable and to protect these jobs will threaten the U.S. washer industry, the middle class jobs it creates, and the communities that depend on it.\r\nI received hundreds of letters from Ohioans at the Clyde facility who are concerned about the unfair practices of Samsung and LG.\u00a0 One of those letters was from Vickie.\u00a0 I\u2019ll close with a quote from her letter, because I think it sums this up perfectly.\r\nVickie writes: \u201cI am proud that U.S. manufacturing creates a way of life for my family, and I hope that way of life will be just as possible and fulfilling for the young people who are growing up in my community.\u00a0\r\n\u201cWe at Whirlpool have the skills and know-how to compete with any product made anywhere in the world, as long as everyone plays by the rules.\u00a0 Foreign competitors, through their unlawful actions, threaten the very U.S. manufacturing jobs that have made our way of life a positive one.\u201d\r\nI think Vickie\u2019s letter captures what\u2019s at stake in your investigation.\u00a0 And I urge you to make an affirmative determination in this case, both on injury and critical circumstances.\u00a0\r\nThe American washer industry is depending on us to fully enforce our trade laws, and Vickie and her colleagues in Clyde deserve no less.\r\nThank you.\r\n\u00a0\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPress Contact\n\t\t\t\t\tContacts: Jenny Donohue/Rachel Petri\r\n202-224-3978", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": 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