As Samsung fights tariff, Gov. McMaster bolsters appliance maker's South Carolina ties with college program
NEWBERRY — Gov. Henry McMaster announced a partnership Friday between South Korean manufacturer Samsung and South Carolina's top universities, strengthening the appliance maker's ties to the state just as President Donald Trump weighs a tariff on washing machines that threatens a Midlands plant set to open in a few weeks.
Clemson University and the University of South Carolina are joining Samsung to create the Palmetto Consortium for Home Appliance Innovation, a research and development program aimed at sponsoring public-private innovation efforts and encouraging more students to enter advanced manufacturing fields.
The collaboration, announced in a news conference at Samsung's home appliance facility under construction in Newberry, inspired several jokes about how rare it is to see the two Palmetto State college rivals working together.
"There are many households across this state where separate laundry is done, the garnet laundry and the orange laundry," quipped USC President Harris Pastides. "But not in Newberry, and never by Samsung. We're going to put the orange laundry and the garnet laundry in together."
The new partnership also comes at a critical time for McMaster and Samsung.
American appliance giant Whirlpool has pressed the Trump administration to impose tariffs on large residential washing machines made by Korean manufacturers Samsung and LG, arguing that a surge in imports has harmed domestic producers. The U.S. International Trade Commission agreed with them in November, recommending a graduated tariff over the next three years.
But Samsung and LG say the move would threaten American jobs that the companies have created at new manufacturing plants. That includes Newberry, where Samsung has already hired more than 350 to work at a new $380 million home appliance hub and plans to create hundreds more jobs by 2020.
"You have to understand, we are a company," said Dolchul Choi, Samsung's senior vice president of research and development. "We do need to make a profit."
While McMaster said the new partnership had been in the works for some time and is not directly tied to his effort to convince the Trump administration, he said he is hoping it will "certainly demonstrate the impact and the great economic benefit that this will have, not only South Carolina but for the rest of the country."
Ultimately, McMaster said, the decision will be Trump's alone to make. The president is expected to decide by early next year.
After meeting with top administration officials in Washington in recent weeks, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, McMaster said he is expecting "a favorable outcome" on the tariffs.
"We don't believe that the International Trade Commission's goal is to stymie this kind of development but rather to encourage it, and that's the case we've been making," McMaster said.
The debate also offers a prime opportunity for McMaster to cash in on his longtime support for Trump. The Columbia Republican was the first statewide elected official to endorse Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, a favor that Trump returned by endorsing McMaster's 2018 gubernatorial campaign in October.
At that fundraising event in Greenville, McMaster introduced Trump to top Samsung executives, and the president lauded the company for its television sets and washing machines.
“The Samsung people, they’re a great company,” Trump said at the fundraiser. “I’ve bought plenty of their products over the years."
The South Carolina congressional delegation has also been enlisted in the effort. Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, whose district includes the Newberry plant, testified at the International Trade Commission in October, and several other members of the delegation have sent letters in opposition to the tariff proposal.
McMaster is hoping Samsung will eventually come to play the same critical economic development role in the Midlands that BMW has accomplished in the Upstate and Boeing has done in the Lowcountry.
He he suggested efforts to impose tariffs are a last resort by companies that are getting beaten in the fair marketplace.
"This is great competition is what this is," McMaster said. "This is precisely the kind of growth the president has been seeking in the country."
The company has worked at a rapid clip to establish itself in South Carolina.
Just six months after the new facility was announced at the site of a former Caterpillar plant, washing machines could hit production lines as soon as next month. The company also helped McMaster out by participating in job fairs after the V.C. Summer nuclear project was abruptly canceled earlier this year.
"Samsung has become part of the fabric of this community," Choi said.
Post a Comment