Whirlpool Corp. said it’s adding 200 jobs after the Trump Administration imposed a tariff of up to 50 percent on large residential washing machines, a penalty aimed at imports from rivals Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc.
The new full-time employees will work at a factory in Clyde, Ohio, Whirlpool said on Monday. The American appliance maker also vowed to make broader investments in manufacturing and innovation.
“This is a victory for American workers and consumers alike,” Chief Executive Officer Jeff Fettig said in a statement on Monday. “By enforcing our existing trade laws, President Trump has ensured American workers will compete on a level playing field with their foreign counterparts, enabled new manufacturing jobs here in America and will usher in a new era of innovation for consumers everywhere.”
Trade and domestic manufacturing were signature issues in Donald Trump’s campaign for the White House, and Fettig served as a member of the president’s manufacturing council. That group was disbanded last year after a controversy over Trump’s remarks about a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.