LG to Raise Prices on Washers After Trump Imposes Steep Tariffs

[riversedge]

Source: wsj




Increases of about $50 are likely on at least some washing machines and dryers


LG Electronics Inc. washing machines moving along the production line at the company's factory in Changwon, South Korea. Photo: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg News
By Andrew Tangel


Updated Jan. 24, 2018 5:47 p.m. ET
176 COMMENTS

LG Electronics Inc. 066570 -6.39% has told retailers it plans to raise prices on its laundry appliances following President Donald Trump’s approval this week of steep tariffs on imported washing machines.

“As a result of the trade situation, we will be initiating pricing actions, which will be sent under separate cover shortly,” Thomas Yoon, an executive at the South Korean manufacturer, told retailers in a memo dated Wednesday and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Industry experts say they expect LG will raise published retail prices on at least some of its washer and dryer models by approximately $50. Washers and dryers are often sold in pairs.

An LG spokesman confirmed Mr. Yoon had sent the memo but declined to discuss specifics about the potential extent of the price increases or their timing. “The penalties were more severe than recommended by the International Trade Commission, and we’re making some adjustments,” the spokesman said, adding a goal was to minimize disruption for consumers.

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Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/lg-to-raise-prices-on-washers-after-trump-imposes-steep-tariffs-1516819656

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I do think this will hurt the average family, person. $50 extra dollars is a lot of money.






Will Trump's Import Tariffs Cause Trade Wars?
President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that imposed tariffs on washing machines and solar panels. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib examined whether these moves could ignite a trade war with South Korea and China. Photo: AP

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Trump wants to harm South Korea.

Trump is too dumb to know what to do about anything.

[still_one]

3. GE and most of the U.S. manufacturers sold their appliance divisions to Asian companies. What trump

will do is make the cost of appliances more expensive to Americans, with no significant benefit to U.S. companies since most of them are out of the appliance business

What an idiot

That is why you don't just randomly go off half-cocked and do unilateral actions, especially in regard to trade. It should also be kept in mind the the U.S. also exports products to other countries, and even though we have a trade deficit, there is still a significant amount of money involved in U.S. exports, so if a trade war started, no doubt there would be unforeseen consequences

[Eliot Rosewater]

4. There are ways to grow production at home slowly, this is not how you do that.

But chief traitor is dumb, he doesnt know the first thing about business

[erronis]

12. This is not s-hole face talking - it's his handlers

Much like W didn't have anything to say without Cheney/Rummie/Wolfie to feed him the words.

If we were to nicely ask dump, "Why do you think this is a good idea?" do you think you'd get a coherent answer that you could take to the GATT/etc. that they would understand?

[pangaia]

20. My take also.

It is part of the russian's and TPTB's plan to destroy america...

[Kolesar]

8. No. White/Electrolux has factories in Ohio. My Whirlpool refrigerator was from Arkansas.

My range is domestic.

[Historic NY]

10. Swedish owned company that also makes a Brazilion of different..

appliances under many names worldwide. They may assemble in Ohio but you can bet their parts productions is centralized elsewhere.

[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolux|]

Not many people buy high end appliances, super expensive.

I've been trying to source a specific size refrigerator, GE stopped making, Maytag doen't have. Your limited if your kitchen cabinets only allow for 67 1/2 to 69 inches. People wanted bigger refrigerators with all kinds of bells and whistles.

I probably going to go with Fisher/Pakel from New Zealand but they are assembled in Michigan.

Prices are going to rise. Like shoes & Tv's very few if any still made here.

[erronis]

13. That's the reason! The prices will rise and the profits will also.

[Historic NY]

15. Exactly !!!

What next cars.

[pangaia]

21. And the profits are NOT here.

[Luciferous]

22. They still create jobs here. My husband's plant has 1200 people, and they are union jobs.

[Luciferous]

18. Actually only 8% of the parts used on an Electrolux oven are from other countries.

Frigidaire and GE are made here, Bosch manufactures dishwashers in North Carolina- there are still plenty of appliances made here, and that includes a lot of the components!

[dhol82]

28. I have the same problem with a built in oven

The original was 30 inches.
Last time I needed to replace it there was one manufacturer that made an oven that size.
Don’t want to know what is out there now.

[still_one]

23. Electrolux is a Swedish company. GE sold it to them. You are absolutely correct, Whirlppol is an

American multinational corporation, and they also sell quite a large number of their appliances international. They also bought Maytag

Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air are American companies, but much of their manufacturing is abroad.

Appreciate the correction for my incorrect generalization

[Mr.Bill]

5. While North Korea is talking about reuniting the two Koreas.

Brilliant timing by the alleged president.

[Eliot Rosewater]

6. And then there is this

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210136272

Looks like being interviewed by Mueller is too much for him, time for war.

[Dem4eva]

7. He's just a complete POS

I've been convinced for quite some time they want to burn the whole country down to the ground. Then they can build it back up with their Russian buddies. But they're too dumb to realize the Russians would never partner with them in any way. Russians would dispose of them (and still might) when they are no longer of any use.

[quartz007]

26. go dumb!

so long as my 401-k is going gang busters.

[Eliot Rosewater]

35. So destruction of the country is OK with you?

[quartz007]

36. I can't honestly complain about the economy.

The main concern I have is environment, with tRump eviscerating EPA regulations. I can't honestly complain about the economy.

[Angry Dragon]

2. 1000% tariff on Trump and Ivanka products would be better

[erronis]

14. Putting them on the "Under $1" table would tank them even faster!

Nobody wants a corroded trump sign or a past-its-prime ivanka bing. So SAD, SAD!

[Kolesar]

9. LG and Samsung dumped appliances in America to destroy White &Whirlpool

They sold them at under fair market price to take market share. Sears helped them.

[not fooled]

11. Check out Speed Queen!

Always made in the U.S. and awesome.

I love my Speed Queen! Durable and does a great job.

[Squaredeal]

16. $1500 for a front loader is out of my price range

I bought my LG for half that price and I’m very pleased with it. Best washer I’ve ever owned. Stackable too.

[Demsrule86]

34. Your cheap appliances are not really cheap to us as a country...as they cost jobs when LG dumped on

the American market illegally.

[hamsterjill]

44. Try to get parts for LG and Samsung if anything goes wrong.

Been there, done that. No thank you ever again. Speed Queen all the way.

[Demsrule86]

46. Well when no one is left to work for you when you hit social security and you lose it...I guess you

discover cheap shit from overseas is not really worth it. We need jobs in this country...not cheap imports. Cheers. Have a good evening.

[quartz007]

37. LG buyers are EXPORTING GOOD jobs

As everyone knows, the manufacturing jobs are middle class jobs. Average wage is 2 to 3 times of those working in McDonalds or Walmart.

If one has a middle class job making good wages, they can afford to buy US made products. Which is better, minimum wage jobs buying LG washers or Manufacturing job who buys Speed Queen washers.

[Egnever]

39. good jobs?

Are you sure about that?

When the unions were strong manufacturing was good now not so much.

Alliance laundry are the makers of speed queen.

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Alliance-Laundry-Systems-LLC/salaries

You can make those salaries at in and out here in Vegas.

[quartz007]

41. Well..I worked in manufacturing

from 1962-1986 and the salaries were great. In 1978 the union was voted in and I quit in 1986. I heard the company was sold and was in distress. After 1986, I worked for a government contractor, and it was great as well.

[Egnever]

45. That was along time ago.

The unions have lost a lot of ground since then.

12.67/hour on a manufacturing line is not a great job in my opinion. It could be if the pay was raised but we all know that is not where we are heading. You can make that wage almost anywhere many that are far less physically demanding.

Obviously 12.67 is more than they pay in some of the countries the jobs are being transferred to but that does not make it a good job.

[Demsrule86]

47. My son is union for an auto company he make about $30.00 and hour. And it is still going up. He is

under 25. The cheap shitty foreign plants who make parts for the Japanese and Korean cars make 10-12 an hour ...no safety checks either...a young woman was crushed to death last year at one of those plants. And if they were not being beaten to death by dumping American companies could pay more.

[Egnever]

50. 30 per hour is a decent wage.

that said we were talking about the makers of the washing machine who pays it's workers 12.67 to start.

Still the idea the foreign auto plants are paying less here in the us does not actually hold up either.

As for whether Toyota workers earn more than employees of U.S. domestic automakers: In 2006, at Toyota’s Georgetown, Ky., plant, workers averaged more in base pay and bonuses than UAW members at Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler, according to the Detroit Free Press. The difference was due to profit-sharing bonuses; Detroit’s workers aren’t getting many of those these days because, well, there’s really nothing to share. The transplants don’t give out much data, however, so it’s hard to tell if this pattern is continuing or even if it applied to all Toyota plants in 2006.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-labor-costs/-u-s-auto-labor-cost-study-shows-impact-of-two-tier-wage-system-idUSKBN0MJ24U20150323

Germany’s Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE), for its Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama, at its only U.S. plant, has the highest U.S. auto labor costs, at an average of $65 an hour. Workers at the U.S. plants of Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and BMW (BMWG.DE) earn the least, at $38 and $39 per hour, respectively, according to estimates by CAR.

Of the other automakers operating in the United States, Honda Motor Co (7267.T) workers earned on average $49 per hour, Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) $48, Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) $42, Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and its corporate stablemate Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS) $41.

The difference in those wages is deceiving though as the US manufacturers come to that figure by dividing pension costs for all workers into the average salary of current workers.

Toyota actually pays the lowest but they also get a decent profit sharing check that has in many years brought their pay right up to competitive levels.

I am all for strong unions and think we need them desperately right now. That said the idea american companies pay more is just not really true any more. It can be again but our public has a very anti union sentiment right now as evidenced by VW practically begging it's workers to unionize and the workers refusing to.

My wife is a union member and her union is going through hell right now the local chapter is withholding dues from the state chapter and the workers have lost their life insurance coverage because of it and are looking like health benefits will be next to go.

[EllieBC]

49. Front loaders are awful.

Top loaders. They last longer and wash clothes better. My top loader is an ancient beast I found on Craigslist after my pricey yet shitty front loader died.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

24. I had Speed Queen washer and dryer...

... bought new with my first house. Had the house for ten years. Sold the set along with the house to the buyer. Never a problem with them in 10 years! And they were one notch below top of the line. $635 for the pair as I recall, back in 1988, ha.

[marybourg]

30. They're still the best,

although they have electronic models now too. I don't know if those are as good.

[hamsterjill]

43. Love my Speed Queen, too!!!

Simple but awesome!

[Baclava]

17. I can live without a LG washer

Back to Whirlpool?

[Luciferous]

19. Electrolux appliances are also manufactured here, as well as Haier, which manufactures GE

appliances and employs 12,000 people. My husband's factory employs 1200. There are plenty of places that still manufacture appliances in the U.S..

[watoos]

25. I bought a Whirlpool washer

made in Wisconsin I think. The first week the electronics board went bad. They shipped me a new one overnight, it didn't work. I noticed the dip switches on the board were set different. It was because the board is made in Mexico which has different hertz, all I had to do was flip the switches. I'm interested in learning what % of parts that go into washers are foreign parts, 8% isn't bad. After so many units foreign parts will taxed at 50%. I always bought/buy American, have never shopped at Walmart.

[Demsrule86]

32. Seriously... bashing your own job making manufacturing to support Korean Manufacturing....

they screw us every way they can. And I returned one of their washers after the board melted down.

[Demsrule86]

33. There are Washing Machines made in Findlay Ohio...my hubs interviewed there...they employ thousands

of Americans. Buy American when you can.

[burrowowl]

27. Viking makes high end appliances in Mississippi

but not washers or dryers.
The POS is a shit-hole.
Is he going to attack other appliances next?

[Demsrule86]

48. I am budgeting my kitchen cabinets ...shopping at Kraftmaid outlet, discount granite

(but still nice) so I can have one of those viking side by side double ovenranges...you can get good deals on Ebay and sometimes on overstock.

[marybourg]

29. Raising the price to the consumer

is the whole point. It makes the American-made competing product more competitive.

[Demsrule86]

31. I have to say...mixed feelings about this...there are few countries on the planet who have

been more unfair to American manufacturing then Korea. They don't take our cars or anything...I believe in protecting and increasing American manufacturing...hope they put a tariff on the cars.

[Kolesar]

38. Korea threatened to arrest our marketing manager if we did not meet their arcane "safety" standards

The rest of the world has harmonized standards. Korea applied a barrier that would have meant a huge amount of expense in testing and documentation.
Then they offered that we could just pay hundreds of thousands to some "agent" in California who was a Korean expat and get accepted.

The Obama government leaned on them and forced a trade deal that cleared that mess .

[Demsrule86]

40. And right now...we have no one who would do this.

Last edited Wed Feb 7, 2018, 09:10 PM - Edit history (1)

When hubs worked for GM, they scrapped a bunch of cars supposed to go to Germany...They just refused to take the agreed on amount. They couldn't be sold here.

[Cold War Spook]

42. My clothes washer I bought at Lowes.

Two years later got another one from Lowes, something wrong with computer they couldn't fix, good long term warranty. Two years later got another one from Lowes, something wrong with the computer, good long term warranty. I now have a Samsung. All were $1,000 machines. Don't have a clue where they were made.

[Demsrule86]

51. Prices are already up. The best I could do was $800 on Whirlpool Cabrio set at Goedeker's

online. I looked everywhere. We are moving and I am sending my handicapped sis to stay with my hubs in our new house in cleveland while I prepare this house for sale...we put in a shower in the new house (she can't do tub showers) and needed a washing machine and dryer.

[riversedge]

53. The landlady where my sister rents has been promising a new washer after

the one in the rental went bummer over a month ago. She said she is looking for a cheaper one. Meanwhile she has 2 kids and hubby who is laborer who gets cloths dirty every day. She has been washing at my place. Bet she never gets the washer.

[cos dem]

52. Yes, but with the new tax law, it will take a mere 34 months to accumulate the extra $50.

And, at $1.50 per month, you'll have a whole dollar left over.

[Doodley]

54. Tariff is another word for tax, and there will be taxes, sorry tariffs, on Mexican goods to pay

for the wall.

[Mosby]

55. tariffs accomplish several things

They help compensate countries that have higher standards and encourage countries like Mexico to improve pay, workplace safety, building codes and environmental standards.

There should be more tariffs, not less, personally I don't understand how so many progressives became fans of completely open free markets. It only hurts the US and middle class in particular.

[Doodley]

56. Not really. Example Trump has suggested up to 45% tariffs on imports from China.

That would not help anyone in poverty in China. It would be devastating to the Chinese economy and also US economy.

[Mosby]

57. trump is an idiot and imo not sincere about trade issues

He just knows that it plays well with some of his base.

I agree with everything Howard Dean talked about regarding trade during his campaign.

http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Howard_Dean_Free_Trade.htm