Complaint against Canadian paper subsidies from Madison mill and others affirmed

The Coalition originally petitioned the Commerce Department to investigate the subsidies provided to Canadian producers and importers of supercalendered paper in February 2015.

A Nova Scotia paper mill says it will “vigorously defend” itself against an interim duty ordered by a U.S. ruling.

Dube claims most of this new preliminary duty rate is based on another interim decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

WASHINGTON, July 28 An investigation into imports of supercalendered paper from Canada found on a preliminary basis that producers and exporters there received countervailable subsidies ranging from 2.04 percent to 20.33 percent, the U.S. Department of Commerce said on Tuesday.

Now known as Verso Corporation, the mill’s former owner is one of the U.S. petitioners along with Madison Paper Industries.

In their formal petition to U.S. trade officials, the companies alleged prices for Canadian imports were as much as 5.2 percent lower in the last half of 2014 and that subsidies have depressed U.S. prices and reduced their revenue. He added, “We also applaud the Commerce Department’s resolve not to break with precedent and to uphold its established investigative process regarding the number of respondents it considers in a countervailing duty trade case”.

Michael Croteau, president of the United Steelworkers Local 36 union at the Madison mill, said in a prepared statement that the preliminary decision would help preserve jobs at the mill, which has about 220 workers.

In the meantime, the mill’s legal team is reviewing the decision and representatives from the Department of Commerce will be visiting the mill.