On March 13, 2018 the US Department of Commerce announced tariffs of up to 22.16 percent on Canadian newsprint production, more specifically uncoated groundwood paper, also widely used in book publishing. A single US mill with 300 employees- NORPAC- located in Washington State has filed countervailing duties and anti-dumping complaints against Canadian mills, claiming that Canadian producers are undercutting US mills. NORPAC is backed by a New York hedge fund.
The problem is that Canada supplies the majority of US newsprint and the tariffs will hit the newspaper printing and publishing industry hard at home. In January, preliminary assessments of 4.4 to 9 % were imposed. This may drive the final nail in the coffin of print media once and for all, but newspaper publishers aren’t giving up without a fight.
Publishers and newspaper organizations are joining forces to make their concerns known. Newspaper associations around the nation including The National Newspaper Association and the News Media Alliance have formed a coalition to voice their concerns to congressmen and the International Trade Commission (ITC): STOPP Stop Tariffs on Printers and Publishers.
They point to four weaknesses in NORPAC’s claims:
The majority of Canadian imports are outside of NORPAC’s regional market
The financial hardship of US newsprint producers has more to do with the prominence of digital platforms rather than the unfair prices from Canada- citing that since the year 2000, demand has decreased 75%.
Cost-cutting by publishers will drive down demand for newsprint even further- doing greater harm to US paper mills.
A request from a single petitioner (NORPAC) threatens thousands of jobs in the US.
Being a reader of a local community newspaper, your source of local information is in harm’s way by the imposition of these tariffs. Printing is a significant portion of a newspaper’s expenditures and any remarkable increases could have very negative consequences. It is important to voice your concern to your US representatives about this matter.
Susan Rowell, NNA president remarked, “We are painfully aware that some newspapers will not survive this upheaval. For those who do, it will be at the expense of a diminished news mission. Our readers, customers and community will pay the price, just so NORPAC, one small mill in Washington state, can use trade laws to a very temporary advantage. Long term, we will all lose.”
The ITC opens its official docket in the coming weeks to inquire into the NORPAC complaint. Members of Congress can only offer statements in this case when the record officially opens.
MORE INFO: https://www.stopnewsprinttariffs.org