Commerce Issues Final Determination Affirming Duties on Imported Canadian UGW

Decision helps to level the playing field for American UGW manufacturers and workers  

LONGVIEW, WA. – North Pacific Paper Company (NORPAC) CEO Craig Anneberg and Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Union President Greg Pallesen issued the following statement commending the U.S. Department of Commerce for its final countervailing duty (CVD) and antidumping (AD) determinations covering uncoated groundwood (UGW) papers from Canada. Today’s final determinations by Commerce confirm that Canadian producers benefit from significant levels of government subsidies. Commerce also found that one investigated company, Catalyst, was dumping but chose not to impose antidumping duty deposits on companies that were not investigated in the AD proceeding, under what is known as the “all others rate.”   

“We thank the U.S. Department of Commerce staff for their careful consideration of the facts of this case. As established by the Department’s final determination, Canadian producers have been engaged in unfair trade practices, which harm American workers and cause material injury to our industry. While we are pleased that our allegations of dumping and subsidization have been confirmed, we are disappointed that the Department of Commerce did not impose antidumping duty deposits on companies that were not investigated, instead setting the deposit rate for “all others” at zero. 

“On behalf of the workers, families and communities that make up the American UGW paper industry, we respectfully urge the USITC Commissioners to reach an affirmative determination to permanently level the playing field against unfairly-traded Canadian imports of UGW paper.”

Commerce found the Canadian industry was subsidized by an average of 8.54 percent, with countervailing duty deposits ranging from 3.38 to 9.81 percent. Commerce also found in its final antidumping determination that imports of UGW papers from Canada produced by Catalyst Paper are being dumped in the U.S. market at up to 16.88 percent less than fair value. 

“Since the imposition of preliminary duties earlier this year, the market has improved sufficiently to allow the restart of NORPAC’s idled paper machine, and the hiring of 60 new employees, with an additional 40 more positions in rural Southwest Washington yet to be filled,” added Anneberg.

In the face of unfair competition since 2012, more than ten American mills have closed costing approximately 2,150 jobs, reducing the U.S. groundwood paper industry’s production capacity by nearly 70 percent. During this time, U.S. producers’ share of the American market has plummeted from 60 percent to 36 percent. Today, there are groundwood paper mills operating across the U.S., primarily located in Washington state, Georgia and Mississippi, which support family-wage jobs and countless community businesses and supporting industries.

The U.S. uncoated groundwood papers industry and NORPAC are not alone in seeking and finding relief from unfair trade. The Department of Commerce decision follows similar trade cases in the last five years, which also found that supercalendered papers and softwood lumber imports from Canada were being subsidized causing material injury to U.S. manufacturers and jobs. Other cases found that imports of foreign coated and uncoated papers were also being subsidized causing injury.

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