Samsung is a major player in the US home appliance market. The country's recent tariff regime brought pricing uncertainty for Samsung's appliances, but the company has leveraged its global production base, including its facilities in the US, to mitigate the impact.

One of its biggest competitors in the US isn't happy, though. Whirlpool is alleging that Samsung has rigged transfer pricing of its products to limit the impact of tariffs on its home appliance products sold in the country.

Whirlpool has filed a complaint with the White House against Samsung and LG, both Korean electronics giants, claiming that they lowered transfer pricing on appliances shipped to the US to reduce tarriff impact.

A report adds that Whirlpool had also alerted US Customs and Border Protection that both companies had inappropriately adjusted internal transfer prices on all home appliance products imported in the US.

Transfer pricing refers to the rates at which subsidiaries of a multinational conglomerate sell products to each other. For example, transfer pricing rules would apply if Samsung's Vietnam subsidiary is selling TVs made there to Samsung's subsidiary in the US for sale in that particular market.

Tax authorities in the United States do all for some flexibility in transfer pricing but Whirlpool claims that Samsung and LG have reduced prices of these products beyond the allowed limit to reduce the impact of US tariffs, which would have otherwise made appliances imported into the US from abroad more expensive.

Samsung has denied any wrongdoing, and so has LG, with both claiming that their transfer pricing mechanisms comply with the country's tax regulations. It's not the first time that Whirlpool seeks trade actions against rivals like Samsung.

It has previously lobbied Washington to impose heavy anti-dumping duties on washing machines made in Korea. Trade-related spats between the companies have gone on for years and are only going to intensify in the current regulatory climate.