ITC Answers Portman's Call to Protect Ohio Paper Supply Jobs Ends Threat to Mead Products' 250 Workers in Kettering. (ITC) announced that it would continue existing relief against unfairly traded imports of lined paper school supplies from China and India.
BigNews.Biz - Aug 03,2012 - ITC Answers Portman's Call to Protect Ohio Paper Supply Jobs
Ends Threat to Mead Products' 250 Workers in Kettering
Washington, DC – At the urging of U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), the International Trade Commission (ITC) announced that it would continue existing relief against unfairly traded imports of lined paper school supplies from China and India. With current duties at risk of expiring, Portman sent a letter to the Chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) asking the commission to extend key protections that help defend jobs at Mead Products in Kettering, Ohio. These orders—which went into effect in 2006 and are reviewed every five years— are critical for Mead Products, which employs 250 workers in Kettering, to maintain jobs and keep prices fair for domestically produced lined paper.
“A report released yesterday showed U.S. manufacturing shrank for the second month in a row; we cannot afford to lose any more of these valuable manufacturing jobs, and especially not to unfairly subsidized imports,” Portman said. “Mead Products and other Ohio companies make some of the finest products we have to offer and can thrive in a global economy when competing on a level playing field, and I am happy the ITC has followed up on our request to protect them from unfair trade practices.”
The letter Portman sent to ITC Chair Irving A. Williamson in June noted that the antidumping and countervailing duty orders currently in place have allowed the domestic industry to charge fair prices that are consistent with its raw material costs, expand operations, and keep mills open to prevent layoffs.
In the Commerce Department’s original investigations of lined paper school supplies from China, India, and Indonesia, it imposed dumping margins of up to 258 percent on Chinese producers, dumping margins of up to 23 percent and subsidy rates of up to 10 percent on Indian producers, and dumping margins of up to 118 percent and subsidy rates of up to 40 percent on Indonesian producers of lined paper school supplies.
The full text of the joint letter signed by Senators Portman and Brown is below.
June 25, 2012
The Honorable Irving A. Williamson
Chairman
U.S. International Trade Commission
500 E Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20436
Dear Chairman Williamson:
We are writing to strongly encourage you to maintain the existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders against unfairly traded imports of lined paper school supplies from China, India, and Indonesia. The maintenance of these trade orders is essential to prevent further injury to an already vulnerable domestic lined paper industry.
Mead Products employs 250 employees in Kettering, Ohio and these are vital products for their company. These trade orders have benefitted the domestic lined paper industry. As a result of the orders, dumped and subsidized imports from China, India, and Indonesia are no longer flooding the U.S. market. These orders have allowed the domestic industry to charge fair prices that are consistent with its raw material costs, strengthen its production operations, expand its capacity, and make important capital
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