The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday once again responded favorably to Whirlpool Corp.'s (WHR) request for relief from imports of washing machines, setting initial antidumping duties against large residential washers from South Korea and Mexico.

Commerce announced a preliminary ruling that the washing machines are being dumped, or sold at prices below fair value, in the U.S. That followed an initial decision in May to impose countervailing duties against South Korea washers in retaliation for alleged unfair government subsidies.

The U.S. plans to impose antidumping tariffs of 82.41% on washing machines made by Daewoo Electronics Corp. in South Korea. Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) faces duty rates of 72.41% for washers imported from Mexico and 9.62% for those originating in South Korea.

Commerce also set initial duties of 12.15% for LG Electronics Inc. (066570.SE) imports from South Korea and 33.30% for Mexican-made washers from Swedish-based Electrolux AB (ELUX-B.SK).

Meanwhile, any shipments from Whirlpool's own Mexican operations would be hit with a 72.41% tariff under the decision. However, Whirlpool said it has stopped shipping washers from Mexico to the U.S., anticipating that nearly all of the washers it sells in the U.S. will be made in-country by 2013 due to investments in its Clyde, Ohio plant.

"Whirlpool is committed to building products in the regions where they are sold and investing in our U.S. manufacturing presence," said spokeswoman Kristine Vernier. "Our investments will continue as long as we can compete on a level playing field, with all of our foreign competitors playing by the established rules."

South Korean companies Samsung and LG expressed disappointment in the initial decision and took issue with Commerce's methodology in calculating the duty rates.

"Samsung strongly disagrees with this finding," the company said in a statement, expressing confidence that the investigation will ultimately determine that the company is complying with U.S. trade laws.

LG also disputed the antidumping margins, saying the U.S. government's calculations appear to be significantly overstated.

The announcement could represent just a temporary victory for Whirlpool in its efforts to combat increasing price competition in home appliances, since the company faces several more steps before winning any import relief. Once Commerce makes a final decision, the duties can only go into effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission decides the imports threaten to cause material injury to U.S. producers.

In April, the Benton Harbor, Mich., company was denied the planned imposition of duties on refrigerators made by Samsung and LG after the U.S. trade panel determined the imports didn't pose a threat to Whirlpool's business. Commerce had proposed both countervailing and antidumping duties on the fridges.

Imports of the washing machines from South Korea fell to $568.5 million last year from $659.1 million in 2010, and are just below 2009 levels. Sales of Mexican washers in the U.S. declined to $434.3 million in 2011 from $450.2 million, but remain above the $382.7 million level of 2009.