Whirlpool adding 200 jobs

New employees to work at Ohio factory

Decision comes after Trump imposed washing machine tariff

Whirlpool Corp. said it's adding 200 jobs after President Donald Trump's 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, Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool said on Monday. The American appliance maker also vowed to make broader investments in manufacturing and innovation.

Whirlpool renewed allegations last year that its South Korean rivals illegally undercut prices on washing machines. In May, it filed a so-called safeguard petition, which is meant to provide help to domestic manufacturers hurt by importers selling products at excessively low levels.

"This is a victory for American workers and consumers alike," CEO 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 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, Va.