South Korea’s tech giants Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. that are in trade battles against U.S. appliance brands protected by the U.S. government’s America First policy beat their local rival Whirlpool in the U.S. premium refrigerator market, according to a U.S. preeminent product testing organization.

According to sources on Monday, Consumer Reports recently revealed its refrigerator ratings in the U.S. and rated Samsung Electronics’ premium French-door refrigerator as its top rated fridge. A French-door refrigerator is a large premium refrigerator that features an upper refrigerator and a lower freezer. It comes with either three doors or four doors.

The latest news comes amid mounting trade tensions between Washington and Seoul over Korean imports to the U.S. following the rapid expansion of Korean products in U.S. markets across various sectors. Samsung and LG are currently facing the risk of being slapped by broad duties or quotas on their foreign-made washing machines in the U.S. after the U.S. International Trade Commission found earlier this month that surging imports of large residential washing machines armed with cheap price tags harmed domestic producers.

But latest Consumer Reports’ ranking suggests that quality, not only cheap price tags, has also played a major role in leading Korean brands to outperform their local brands in the U.S. market, industry observers said.

According to the Consumer Reports’ rating, seven Samsung Electronics products received highest scores and swept top places in the four-door refrigerator category. A product by Dacor, a leading American luxury built-in appliance maker that was acquired by Samsung Electronics last year, topped the ranking for the first time, followed by other six products produced by Samsung Electronics. The electronics giant’s four-door French refrigerator was also chosen as Consumer Report’s Best Buy model that also takes into consideration product quality and overall price.

Samsung Electronics also made its name in the top ranking in the three-door French refrigerator category by receiving the highest score. The second spot was jointly held by products of Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Kenmore - a unit under Whirlpool. LG Electronics’ energy-efficient product was chosen as Best Buy in the three-door refrigerator category.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics refrigerators achieved full scores in temperature control, temperature maintenance, and noise measurement, according to the report.

In the wall oven ranking that is crucial in establishing a foothold in the built-in consumer electronics market, Samsung Electronics also topped the ranking for the first time along with Whirlpool. The company’s single and double wall ovens received the highest score of 80 points. It received positive review for its so-called flex duo technology that has been introduced in North America for the first time. The technology allows the oven to be divided into two separate spaces for consumers to cook different dishes at the same time with less odor.

By Song Sung-hoon

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