Coated Paper Imports from China & Indonesia Are Subsidized

Published: March 03, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC | According to an announcement issued by the American Forest & Paper Assn. (AF&PA), the US Dept. of Commerce recently issued its preliminary countervailing duty determinations that imports of certain coated paper suitable for high-quality print graphics, using sheet-fed presses from China and Indonesia, are benefiting from government subsidies.

Commerce imposed preliminary countervailing duties ranging from 3.92% to 12.83% on imports from China and 17.48% on imports from Indonesia. With these preliminary decisions, importers of the subject paper from China and Indonesia will have to post cash deposits or bond with US Customs and Border Protection based on these preliminary rates pending final resolution of these cases later this year.

The petitioners in these investigations are Appleton Coated LLC, NewPage Corp., Sappi Fine Paper North America, and the United Steelworkers. While not a petitioner, AF&PA says the organization and its members have been consistent supporters of free and fair trade policies. The organization believes that US companies and workers should be able to use all legal remedies available under US trade laws to address any foreign unfair trade practices and says it will monitor closely the next steps of the Commerce Dept. and the US Intl. Trade Commission.