Tariffs on newsprint a threat to newspapers
Much of the talk of tariffs and trade wars has centered on the Trump administration’s decision to pursue increased taxes on some international supplies of steel and aluminum as well as retaliatory tariffs by other countries that could affect a range of U.S. exports and jobs.
But there’s a tariff that has received less attention and could have a damaging effect on what you’re reading right now, whether your holding a physical newspaper, a desktop computer mouse or a smartphone.
Since early January, the U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed anti-subsidy and anti-dumping tariffs on newsprint — the paper on which newspapers, directories and other publications are printed — supplied by mills in Canada, tariffs of up to 32 percent.
The resulting increases in prices have pushed up newsprint prices for newspaper publishers by 20 percent to 30 percent. After labor costs — everyone from reporters, ad reps, press operators and others — newsprint is the second largest cost for newspapers.
The tariffs, which have gone into effect while they and the complaint that launched them are reviewed by the U.S. International Trade Commission, have meant an increase in newsprint prices for publishers whether they are supplied by Canadian or U.S. mills. Prices have increased from about $560 per metric ton in August when the anti-dumping petition was filed to $655 as of February, The Daily News in Longview reported.
And throughout the industry, the increased cost cannot be easily absorbed, whether it’s The New York Times, The Herald or The Marysville Globe. But the burden is heaviest for community newspapers, such as The Herald and more than 40 other Sound publications in Washington state.
http://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-tariffs-on-newsprint-a-threat-to-newspapers/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=7bdc3b301f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-7bdc3b301f-228635337
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