Members of Maine's newspaper industry are lauding Wednesday’s announcement by the International Trade Commission, stating that tariffs imposed on Canadian newsprint paper will be relaxed.
"The bigger papers, like the daily papers, were looking at increased costs in the millions,” says Maine Press Association President, Faith deAmbrose. “We were probably looking at, you know, tens of thousands."
deAmbrose is also the managing editor of weeklies-publisher Penobscot Bay Press. Now, she says, the industry should be able to channel that money into wages and the actual product.
But MaineToday Media CEO, Lisa DeSisto, says the tariffs have already disrupted the supply and caused some Canadian companies to stop selling in the United States, leading to a 22 percent price spike for newsprint since March.
She says it's not yet clear how supply and demand will play out.
The tariffs, which were enacted to help a single newsprint maker in the Pacific Northwest, triggered opposition from Maine's Congressional delegation, members of which argued that the tariffs were actually having a chilling effect on the paper industry.
