U.S. ITC Votes to Proceed on Uncoated Paper Case
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The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Wash., D.C., USA, voted this past Friday in the preliminary phase of its investigations of the trade case filings by four domestic companies and the United Steelworkers (USW) union against uncoated paper imports from Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Portugal. The four manufacturers filing are Domtar Corp., Packaging Corp. of America (PCA), Finch Paper, and P.H. Glatfelter Co.
The affirmative vote by the ITC means that there is a reasonable indication that imports are injuring or threatening injury to the domestic industry and paper workers' jobs. Therefore, the U.S. will proceed to investigate the USW and companies' petitions requesting duties on the unfairly-traded imports of uncoated paper products. About 130,000 workers are represented by the USW in the paper and forestry products industry, a loss of more than 60,000 jobs since 2002.
"Multiple plant shutdowns across the uncoated paper manufacturing sector have cost almost 2,500 workers their jobs since these foreign competitors began flooding our market with unfairly traded products," said USW International VP Jon Geenen. "These are good, family-supportive jobs that are being lost to dumped and subsidized imports. It's time to restore fair trade conditions to the market to preserve and restore the jobs that have been lost to predatory trade practices," he added.
