Commerce Department Addresses Unfair Dumping of Paper Imports

[Omaha Steve]

by Mike Hall, Oct 19, 2007


U.S. paper mill workers have a more level playing field against unfair trade after the U.S. Department of Commerce yesterday slapped anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on glossy paper imports from China, Indonesia and South Korea.

Earlier this year, the United Steelworkers (USW) and the NewPage Corp. filed a complaint with the Commerce Department, charging China, Indonesia and Korea with dumping glossy paper on the U.S. market. The paper is used in high-end printing of catalogues, movie posters, corporate reports and magazines.



In May, after the department announced it would impose duties, China took the case to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Says USW President Leo Gerard:

We are pleased that the U.S. has rejected calls from China to grant special treatment to its dumped and subsidized exports….Today’s ruling is the right direction for American workers, but much more still needs to be done to bring about fair trade. For example, China imports most of its timber, yet there is still no real way to determine if the imported wood—which is used to make paper products exported to the U.S.—has been harvested illegally.

But he added that the action was overdue and the delay had cost U.S. workers their jobs.

Enforcing trade rules can make a difference in defending American workers’ jobs and the industries they work in….Unfair predatory trading practices have cost U.S. jobs by forcing mill closures and the shutdown of paper lines.

FULL story at link.