Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) celebrated the news that Whirlpool Corporation will be investing more than $65 million into northwest Ohio, creating more than 100 jobs in to its Ottawa factory. With this investment, Whirlpool is continuing its efforts to position the plant as the Premium Refrigeration Factory (PRF) in its North American Region. The investment will include an expansion of the Ottawa plant to accommodate production of premium refrigeration products, including Built-In Refrigerator (BIR) production.
“Whirlpool’s decision to expand production in Ohio and bring more jobs to Ottawa is a testament to the strength of our state’s manufacturing sector and the quality of Ohio’s workers,” said Brown. “This investment not only boosts jobs and the economy of our state, it also proves that you should always bet on the American worker and the quality of our products.”
Since 2012, Brown has worked to level the playing field for Whirlpool workers by cracking down on countries that unfairly import their products into the U.S. at the expense of American workers.
Earlier this year, Brown and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Leveling the Playing Field Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws and ensure they remain effective tools to fight back against unfair trade practices and protect American workers. Brown testified on behalf of Ohio Whirlpool workers in 2020, urging the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to recommend that President Trump extend safeguard tariffs to ensure Whirlpool and its workers get sufficient relief from unfair trade practices of foreign competitors. Brown has led efforts to help Whirlpool workers in Clyde. Brown sent a letter to the International Trade Commission (ITC) urging them to support an extension of the current washing machine safeguard.
In September 2017, Brown testified on behalf of Ohio Whirlpool workers in a trade case at the International Trade Commission (ITC). In October, the ITC ruled in favor of Whirlpool. Following the ITO ruling, Brown and Portman sent a letter to U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer urging trade relief for Ohio Whirlpool workers.
In 2012 and again in 2017, Brown visited the Whirlpool plant in Clyde to tour the facility and meet with workers. Brown also spoke with Clyde Whirlpool workers on his podcast.
In October 2016, Brown and Portman wrote to then-U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, urging her to take action against the flood of unfairly traded washing machine imports that are harming U.S. manufacturers and their workers, including the Whirlpool plant in Clyde.
Brown’s original trade remedy legislation, the Leveling the Playing Field Act, signed into law in June 2015, has restored strength to antidumping and countervailing duty statutes that allow businesses and workers in the United States to petition the Commerce Department and the ITC when foreign producers sell goods in the U.S. below market price or receive illegal subsidies. The law led to key wins for Ohio steel companies in major trade cases last year on cold-rolled, hot-rolled, and corrosion-resistant steel, including U.S. Steel, Nucor, ArcelorMittal, and AK Steel, which together employ more than 8,200 Ohio workers.
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