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Several imported appliances will be subject to 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum later this month, per a June 12 Federal Register notice from the U.S. Commerce Department.
Beginning June 23, the levies will apply to the steel and aluminum content of freezers, refrigerator-freezers, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, stoves, ranges and ovens, food-waste disposals and some wire racks.
The tariff will not be levied on the appliances themselves but on the steel or aluminum content contained within them, per the notice.
President Donald Trump doubled steel and aluminum tariffs to their current 50% rate earlier this month but provided a carve-out provision exempting U.K. imports.
“The increased tariffs will more effectively counter foreign countries that continue to offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminum in the United States market and thereby undercut the competitiveness of the United States steel and aluminum industries,” Trump said last month in the proclamation imposing the tariff increase.
Trump first installed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports in February, following similar tactics from his first administration. The White House later updated the list of goods subject to the duties to include two derivative products: empty aluminum cans and beer.
Adding new tariff costs for imported appliances could lead manufacturers making products overseas and retailers selling imported machines to hike prices.
“Typically, steel amounts to about half the weight of an appliance or in the case of a washer adds up to 100 pounds of steel,” Whirlpool Chairman and CEO Marc Bitzer said in an April earnings call.
Bitzer added that while 80% of the appliances it sells in the U.S. are produced domestically, the industry average is 25%.
Increasing tariffs already pushed appliance makers like Sweden-based Electrolux to consider increasing prices prior to Thursday’s notice.
“We are implementing as we speak price increases in North America, and they should be fully compensating from a negative impact again from the negative impact we see from tariffs,” Electrolux President and CEO Yannick Fierling said during an April earnings call.
Meanwhile, major retailers like The Home Depot and Lowe’s, which sell washing machines, dryers and other appliances, said they plan to avoid price hikes by leaning on domestic sourcing and supplier relationships. In contrast, Walmart CEO Doug McMillan in May said that “higher tariffs will result in higher prices.”
