If there were ever a trade-policy case that questions the long-held beliefs of free traders, the multi-year large appliance battle between American-owned Whirlpool and South Korean-owned LG (formerly Lucky Goldstar) and Samsung is it.
Free traders have always believed that allowing consumers to have the freedom to buy whatever they want, from whomever and wherever they want, and without any government interference is the best policy. But what about when foreign companies cheat by illegally “dumping” their products in the U.S. market – meaning that they are selling their products below the cost of production (usually with the intent to steal market share from their competitors)?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Whirlpool is the victim of cheating by predatory foreign competitors, of which there is never a shortage.
Even the free trade-leaning Obama administration upheld Whirlpool’s petition for tariffs on Samsung and LG
