OPINION:
Talk about tariffs is raging in Washington, but too often the focus is solely on trade deficits and other geopolitical impacts of international trade relations. While those issues are important, they fail to take into account the impact tariffs have on every hometown in America.
Newsprint is a good example. Currently, U.S. consumers demand just over 3 million tons of newsprint each year in the form of newspapers, books and other print publications. However, the United States is barely able to supply 1 million tons of newsprint and must import the product from other countries, mainly Canada.
The Commerce Department imposed newsprint tariffs earlier this year at the urging of NORPAC, a single paper producer located in Washington State, but which is owned by an equity fund based in New York. NORPAC says it is being harmed by unfair trade practices by Canada, ignoring that a decades-long shift from print to digital is the well-documented culprit. Commerce’s solution is proving toxic to local newspapers, printers and even paper manufacturers — the very companies the tariffs are supposed to help.
Ultimately, if import duties on Canadian newsprint remain in place, citizens in all 50 states will receive less news and information about their local community; Main Street America could lose an important advertising channel; and thousands of Americans in the paper manufacturing, publishing, printing and retail industries could lose their jobs.
Over the last 15 years, dozens of local newspapers have shrunk, moved online or disappeared altogether as online platforms have grown. The new tariffs are exacerbating this trend. In the last couple of weeks, The Salisbury (N.C.) Post ceased publishing its Saturday and Monday print editions, in part to adjust to increases of up to 30 percent in the cost of paper. The Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado; the Natchez Democrat and the Vicksburg Post in Mississippi; and newspapers in Nevada, Georgia, Virginia, Kentucky and Nebraska have all cut some editions.
Other newspapers have decided to cut sections or features. This summer, the Madison Press in Ohio was forced to halt its print editions altogether. Even some of the larger, regional dailies are struggling to cope. For example, The Tampa Bay Times announced this spring it was forced to cut 50 newsroom jobs.
The reduction or disappearance of local news will not be offset by the abundance of information available online. It takes journalists on the ground in communities to probe how local tax dollars are spent, hold public officials accountable, uncover corruption and cover events and issues that are important to community members — from city council decisions to coverage of high school sports. The success of our nation’s democracy depends on an informed citizenry. Hiking the cost of the biggest budget item (outside of payroll) for many newspapers could silence the chief means of informing citizens.
And, as newsprint costs rise, local retailers are stymied in their ability to reach customers through ad inserts distributed by newspapers. Printers who print these retail insert pages printed on newsprint are reporting double-digit declines in the number of pages compared to the same period last year. These advertisements, delivered through local newspapers, are a vital marketing tool for local small businesses. Most adults still use newspaper advertising to find out about sales and promotions. In fact, print ads are the most trusted media source for making a purchasing decision (Source: MarketingSherpa). Reducing this kind of advertising is bound to adversely impact the local economy.
Trade remedies, such as countervailing and antidumping duties, are intended to shield American companies and workers from abusive trade practices. In this case, however, it is important to understand that as the price of newsprint increases, newspapers and print customers will demand less paper, regardless of whether it is sourced in the United States or Canada. U.S. newsprint manufacturers will ultimately suffer in the long run.
Congress can make a difference and in fact, more than 150 members of the U.S. House and Senate have expressed opposition to the petition requesting tariffs on Canadian newsprint. And, 19 federal lawmakers testified in opposition to these tariffs at an International Trade Commission hearing in July.
We appreciate the recent actions by Department of Commerce to reduce the level of some tariffs, but only their complete elimination will cease harm to American publishers and printers. To undermine these publications and kill jobs in the paper manufacturing and printing industries by keeping tariffs in place for one company would be a monumental public policy failure. We hope the ITC recognizes this and reverses these tariffs when it votes on the case later this month.
• David Chavern is president and CEO of News Media Alliance. Joel Quadracci is chairman, president and CEO of Quad/Graphics
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