The U.S. Department of Commerce has set the rates of preliminary antidumping duties on South Korean residential washing machines produced in China.
 
The department made the decision after concluding that South Korean manufacturers were selling Chinese-made washers in the United States at prices below market value.
 
As a result, 111 percent of preliminary antidumping duties will be imposed on Suzhou Samsung Electronics and 49 percent on Nanjing LG-Panda appliances.
 
The department also said that Samsung Electronics China faces final antidumping duties as critical circumstances were found to exist, noting that its exports of residential washers to the U.S. surged in a short period of time.
 
The decision comes after U.S. home appliance maker Whirlpool filed petitions against the South Korean manufacturers in December last year, blaming them for hurting the washing machine industry and threatening jobs in the U.S.