Tariff protections extended that protect Maine papermaking jobs
COLLINS PHOTO COURTESY / MEDILL DC, FLICKR, KING PHOTO COURTESY / U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE, FLICKR
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King said the extension of existing duties on imports of coated paper from China and Indonesia will help protect Maine papermaking jobs.
The U.S. International Trade Commission announced Tuesday it will extend existing duties on imports of coated paper from China and Indonesia, a move that U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King said will help protect Maine papermaking jobs.
All six commissioners voted in support of continuing the tariff protections, according to a release on the commission’s website.
“We welcome the International Trade Commission’s decision to maintain its current tariffs on coated paper from China and Indonesia,” the senators said in a joint statement. “This decision will support companies in Maine, like Verso, that provide good-paying jobs to hundreds of people. Maine’s papermakers can compete with anyone on a level playing field, which is why tackling these illegal and unfair trade practices by foreign competitors is so critical.”
The decision by the ITC to continue existing duties resulted from a petition filed under a so-called “sunset review.” Under existing law, remedial tariffs are authorized in antidumping and countervailing duty cases but are subject to reassessment five years under sunset review procedures.
The original effort to address unfair trade for the subject products was decided in November 2010, Collins and King stated.
The petitioners — including Verso Corp., Sappi North America and Appleton Coated LLC — requested extension of relief to prevent unfairly subsidized imports from China and Indonesia from harming U.S. manufacturers and workers.
Sens. Collins and King led a bipartisan letter signed by 15 of their colleagues in July calling on the ITC to extend the tariffs.
Collins photo: Flickr/Medill DC, King photo: Flickr/U.S. Naval War College
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