According to national media reports on Friday, a trade panel with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) approved an investigation that will could lead to steep import duties on more than US$1 billion of washing machines from South Korea and Mexico and more than US$150 million of wind energy towers from China and Vietnam. The decision will allow the US Commerce Department to continue its investigation in those four countries based on strong evidence that there was harm to domestic producers. The trade panel also approved a third investigation on steel wire garment hangers from Taiwan and Vietnam.
The claims on the washing machines are that the sale of South Korean machines in the US undercut domestic prices by 31 percent to 82 percent, with machines from Mexico undercutting domestic prices by 27 percent to 72 percent. The claims on the wind towers are that towers from China undercut domestic prices by more than 200 percent with towers from Vietnam undercutting domestic prices by more than 140 percent.