Wyo Delegation Asks International Trade Commission to End Tariffs That Hurt Local Newspapers

Press Release

U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Congresswoman Liz Cheney, all R-Wyo., urged the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to reject recently imposed tariffs that are hurting local newspapers.

The ITC, an independent federal agency that rules on antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, recently held a hearing to decide if recent tariffs on imports of Canadian uncoated groundwood used to make newsprint should be finalized.

The Wyoming delegation submitted testimony for the hearing to urge the Commission to take into account the devastating effects these tariffs could have on local papers and the communities they serve.

"We are deeply concerned that residents in Wyoming and in smaller cities and towns across America will lose a critical community resource," the Wyoming delegation said. "In states like Wyoming, communities rely on their local papers to provide essential coverage of local and national news, community events, and high school and college sports. Moreover, these papers are small businesses that provide good jobs and a valuable service in communities across the country. The imposition of tariffs on uncoated groundwood paper and the increased costs resulting from these tariffs may threaten their existence. Thus, we urge the Commission to take into account the devastating effects these tariffs could have on these small businesses and the communities they serve."

Because only one of the five U.S. paper mills have voiced support for the new tariffs, the delegation also noted that the investigation does not appear to have the support of the industry the investigation is supposedly helping.

All three members of the delegation are co-sponsors of the Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade (or "PRINT") Act of 2018, which would suspend the tariffs on newsprint while the Department of Commerce examines the health of the printing and publishing industries.

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