WASHINGTON – The U.S. Commerce Department is going ahead with a tax on Canadian newsprint, a threat to the already-struggling American newspaper industry.
The revised tariffs unveiled Thursday are mostly lower than those originally imposed earlier this year. But they would still hit the paper used by newspapers and other publications with an anti-dumping border tax as high as 16.88 per cent.
The tariffs are a response to a complaint from a hedge fund-owned paper producer in Washington state, which argues that its Canadian competitors are taking advantage of government subsidies to sell their product at unfairly low prices. Still, Commerce decided to spare two Canadian producers from the anti-dumping charges.
In addition to anti-dumping duties, Commerce is imposing newsprint levies ranging from 0.82 per cent to 9.81 per cent to counter Canadian subsidies.
The Commerce decision is not final. The independent U.S. International Trade Commission could change or kill the tariffs in a ruling scheduled for next month.
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The Canadian government is “disappointed” with the duties, Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said in a statement, arguing that Canadian newsprint has long been relied on by American publishers and printers.
“For decades, U.S. publishers and printers have relied on fairly and competitively priced imports of Canadian newsprint. Recent bipartisan testimony before the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., reflected widespread concern among U.S. lawmakers about the damage tariffs on Canadian newsprint would inflict on the American publishing and printing industry,” said Freeland.
“The tariffs would be particularly hurtful for smaller communities, resulting in higher costs and even job losses at local newspapers and publications.”
Freeland stated that the Canadian forestry industry provides key economic opportunities for Indigenous and rural communities, and the Canadian government would continue to work to “defend this vital sector” and explore trade opportunities in new markets.
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Newsprint is the usually the second-highest cost for newspapers. Already contending with falling readership and plummeting advertising revenue, newspapers are struggling as the tariffs drive up the cost of newsprint.
The Robesonian newspaper in Lumberton, North Carolina, for instance, last week announced that it was dropping its eight-page colour comics sections from its Sunday edition to cut costs.
Congress is overwhelmingly opposed to the tariffs on the paper used by newspapers and other publications.
House Speaker Paul Ryan contacted Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross directly to voice his concerns. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declared in a newspaper column that the tax “would do irreversible harm” to the newspaper industry.
— With files from Global News reporter Rahul Kalvapalle