Collins, King Welcome Tariff Announcement to Protect Maine Papermaking Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to an announcement today from the U.S. Trade Commission (ITC) that it will help protect Maine papermaking jobs by extending existing duties on imports of coated paper from China and Indonesia, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King released the following statement:

“We welcome the International Trade Commission’s decision to maintain its current tariffs on coated paper from China and Indonesia. This decision will support companies in Maine, like Verso, that provide good-paying jobs to hundreds of people,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “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.”

Today, the ITC announced an extension of duties on imports of certain coated paper from China and Indonesia as a step to ensure continuing fair market conditions for the domestic market. 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 that are authorized in antidumping and countervailing duty cases 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. The petitioners – including Verso Corporation, 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.

Senators Collins and King led a bipartisan letter signed by fifteen of their colleagues in July calling on the ITC to extend the tariffs.