Trade Rift Could Hurt U.S. Imports

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A growing U.S.-China trade rift over coated paper exports to America has direct implications for Southern California seaports, where much of the paper is shipped, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.


Exporters of Chinese coated paper, accused by U.S. manufacturers of receiving unfair subsidies in their homeland, are now facing significant duties on exports to the United States following a March 30 ruling by the Department of Commerce.


The decision, which affects the rapidly increasing volumes of coated free sheet paper moving through the ports of Long Beach-Los Angeles, comes in the wake of an anti-dumping investigation by the Commerce Department.


The investigation found that Chinese paper producers were receiving unfair government subsidies averaging 18.16 percent, artificially pushing down prices on the world market and undercutting American manufacturers.


Commerce officials, who are also looking into Indonesian and Korean paper producers, will issue their final ruling later this year.


“The China of today is not the China of years ago,” said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who visited the Port of Long Beach in January to discuss U.S. efforts to level the trade imbalance with China. “Just as China has evolved, so has the range of our tools to make sure Americans are treated fairly.”


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