Tariffs and duties recently imposed on Canadian newsprint manufacturers could cause trouble for Southwest Michigan newspapers.
The U.S. Department of Commerce instituted the fees after the North Pacific Paper Company in Washington State filed a complaint. The company alleged that Canadian firms were selling their paper in U.S. markets at unfairly low prices. Now, some Canadian newsprint faces import charges of up to 32 percent.
That’s a problem for newspapers around the country, but especially those in Midwestern states such as Michigan, where many papers are printed on newsprint from Canada. Relatively few mills in the U.S. make newsprint right now, and the paper’s weight makes long-distance shipping impractically expensive.
Newspaper publishers say the tariffs and duties have driven up the cost of newsprint and placed an extra burden on already-struggling print media.
Three Rivers Commercial-News Editor and Publisher Dirk Milliman says he’s worried about what will happen if his printing costs rise. Milliman says the import charges could also cause newsprint shortages.
“I could get a call from my printer any day saying, ‘Sorry, we don’t have enough newsprint to print your newspaper today.’ So that’s a very scary proposition,” he said. He added that he’s involved with a trade group that’s urging the government to end the tariffs and duties.
Steve Racette publishes the Paw Paw Courier-Leader and the Paw Paw Flashes. He says his printing bill recently rose by three percent, a cost he says the newspaper had to pass on to its advertisers.
“We can ill afford to be increasing our rates at a time when we have so much competition on so many mediums,” he said.
Racette says he would like to see the fees rescinded, but he is not hopeful that they will be.
