Headlines News
News/Media Alliance urges U.S. trade commission to reject tariffs on printing plates

The News/Media Alliance urges the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to reject antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on imports of aluminum lithographic printing plates from Japan and China.

“These duties were imposed earlier this year and are an excessive upcharge approaching 150 per cent from China and 100 per cent from Japan to these aluminum printing plates, which are used in the United States to print newspapers, magazines, books, and other printed materials,” said a media statement.

“A decision by the federal government to impose new tariffs on aluminum printing plates would threaten news publishers’ critical news-gathering missions, put American jobs at risk, and cause additional news outlets to shutter, contributing to expanding news deserts across the country,” said News/Media Alliance president and CEO Danielle Coffey. “The news and publishing industries are already operating in a challenging economic environment and the future of quality journalism is in peril. We urge ITC to reject new antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum printing plates, which would only accelerate the disappearance of quality local journalism, at a time when we need it more than ever.”

“Local news is the lifeblood of our communities and preserving quality local journalism supports a healthy democracy. When newspapers close, there is a community-wide negative impact – civic engagement decreases, corruption increases, and combatting misinformation becomes more difficult, which is particularly critical in an election year. This impact is disproportionately borne by vulnerable communities, including rural communities and communities of colour,” added Coffey. “The Alliance will continue to fight the proposed duties on printing plates, which would disrupt the flow of news and information to communities that rely on printed newspapers throughout the country.”

According to the Alliance, some of the largest pressrooms in America rely on printing technology requiring violet plates, which are not produced in the U.S. Additionally, many pressrooms around the country use thermal plates that are produced in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and China. The Alliance fears prohibitive duties on thermal plate imports from Japan and China would place pressrooms’ supply chain at risk because the duties would be passed from suppliers to consumers, directly hitting a publisher’s bottom line. Equally concerning is the impact the import duties would have on limiting access to equipment maintenance, availability of parts, and healthy price negotiation in a fragile industry.

ITC will hold a hearing on September 12 to decide whether to continue to allow these duties.