U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he holds a news conference at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that tariff quotas on washing machines would be allocated on a quarterly rather than an annual basis, saying that domestic producers had begun to do better in the face of foreign competitors but more was left to be done.

“I have... determined that additional action is necessary to eliminate circumvention of the adjustments to (tariff-rate quotas) on large residential washing machines, by ensuring that within-quota quantities of imports of washers are spread throughout the year,” he said in a presidential proclamation.

Under the original quota system, an annual limit was placed on washer imports. As of Feb.7, the administration will allocate the quota on a quarterly basis, with within-quota quantities of 1.2 million washers.

The Trump administration announced here in 2018 it would impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on imports of washing machines and key components.

In response to the tariffs, LG Electronics Inc 066570.KS said last year it would raise prices of its washing machines in the United States by about 4 to 8 percent.