The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday partly backed off on tariffs it placed on Canadian newsprint in January and March.
Newspapers across the United States have protested the tariffs, which spurred increases of up to 30 percent in the cost of newsprint since the first of the year.
Other opponents noted that the anti-trade complaint with the Commerce Department against the Canadian companies was filed by just one of the five newsprint manufacturers in the United States and was opposed by other U.S. paper mills and their trade associations.
The tariffs can still be reversed or revised by the independent U.S. International Trade Commission, which held hearings on the issue last month.
"There is strong evidence before the [the trade commission] that it is the decades-long shift from print to digital -- not pricing from Canada -- that has financially challenged the U.S. newsprint industry," David Chavern, president and chief executive officer of New Media Alliance, said in a statement. "No one wins if these tariffs remain."
Canadian mills supply about $1.2 billion in paper used for newspapers, newspaper supplements, certain books and directories and writing papers in the United States. Newsprint that generally cost about $600 a ton in early spring saw a price increase of $180 a month later.
Catalyst Pulp and Paper, in British Columbia, now faces tariffs of 20.1 percent, down from the previous 28.1 percent. Newsprint manufacturers such as Catalyst pass the cost of the tariffs to their customers.
The Commerce Department levied tariffs of about 10 percent on two other major companies, Resolute Forest Products and Kruger Inc., for alleged subsidies from the Canadian government, and dropped preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of 22 percent against two dozen other newsprint manufacturers.
"It's good news, not great news," said Lynn Hamilton, president of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "It's important that they moved in the right direction."
Hamilton said the newspaper has done business over the years with three of the major Canadian mills caught up in the dispute. After salaries, newsprint is the biggest expense for newspapers, already struggling with smaller circulations and shrinking advertising revenue.
In its original complaint with the Commerce Department, the hedge-fund owners of North Pacific Paper Corp., in Longview, Wash., had sought tariffs ranging from 23 percent to nearly 55 percent.
"This was a complicated and unique case," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement Thursday. "The department worked hard to address the arguments raised, and I am satisfied that the final determinations appropriately targets bad actors."
The Arkansas Press Association in Little Rock and its member newspapers will continue working against the tariffs, its executive director, Ashley Wemberley, said. "It's a step in the right direction, but we're hoping for a total reversal," Wemberley said. "This is not just about newspapers. It's an issue confronting every local economy."
The Commerce Department in July dropped its tariff order on glossy paper manufactured in Canada after the World Trade Organization ruled in Canada's favor.
A vote by the International Trade Commission is expected on Aug. 29, according to the newspaper trade group. If the commission rejects all or part of the tariffs, any tariffs paid since January can be refunded.
Business on 08/03/2018