The U.S. has announced safeguard measures on imports of large residential washing machines and solar cells, which will likely strike a blow to South Korean manufacturers. 

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement on Monday that the U.S. International Trade Commission found that U.S. producers had been seriously injured by imports and made several recommendations to President Donald Trump, adding that the measures were approved by the president. 

The measures include a 20 percent tariff on the first one-point-two million units of imported large residential washing machines, including those produced by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, and a 50 percent tariff on units exceeding the quota. 

The below-quota rate goes down to 18 percent and 16 percent in the second and third years, respectively. For units exceeding the quota, the rate goes down to 45 percent and 40 percent.

On imports of solar cells in excess of two-point-five gigawatts, the U.S. will impose a 30 percent tariff in the first year and 25 percent and 20 percent in the second and third years, respectively. The rate will go down to 15 percent in the fourth year.