B.C.’s Catalyst says anti-dumping duties could threaten business

B.C.'s Catalyst says anti-dumping duties could threaten business
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The U.S. Department of Commerce says a preliminary investigation has found Canadian exporters underpriced newsprint paper by between 0 and 22.16 per cent. (CBC)

The U.S. Department of Commerce says a preliminary investigation has found Canadian exporters underpriced newsprint paper by between 0 and 22.16 per cent. (CBC)

The United States government is imposing more anti-dumping duties on Canadian newsprint, which could prove devastating for local mills.

The U.S. Department of Commerce says a preliminary investigation has found Canadian exporters underpriced uncoated groundwood paper by between 0 and 22.16 per cent.

Uncoated groundwood paper includes newsprint, as well as book publishing, printing and writing papers.

The department says it calculated a dumping rate of 22.16 per cent for Catalyst Paper Corp. of British Columbia.

It says Resolute Forest Products and White Birch were both found to have dumping rates of 0 per cent.

The department says it’s instructing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from Canadian newsprint importers based on the findings.

Port Alberni’s mayor says the move could have a significant impact on the mill and the community.

“Frankly I’m not surprised but it is a huge threat to Catalyst as a company and it’s also a huge threat to the viability of this mill because when you add 22.1 percent on top of the bottom line, that’s a lot for any company to even remotely consider swallowing, so the only option that Catalyst has is to add that to the cost of the paper that they sell to the us and hopefully their purchasers will accept that increase,” Mayor Mike Ruttan said.

“No company, including one as big as Catalyst, can sustain those kinds of losses month after month indefinitely. You get to the point as any company when you have to make a decision as to whether or not you’re able to keep operating and as a city, we don’t want Catalyst to be in this position. It threatens them as a company and more importantly, it threatens the viability of the operation here in our city it has a huge economic impact for the city, for the province, for the country.”

Catalyst issued a statement on Wednesday with President and CEO Ned Dwyer saying they are “disappointed with the decision.”

“This U.S. trade action is unwarranted and without merit,” Dwyer said in the statement.

“Even with the exemption of directory paper, the remaining anti-dumping and countervailing duties are onerous and a critical cost challenge for Catalyst. They pose a threat to our competitiveness and the sustainability of our business and we will continue to vigorously defend ourselves against them.”

The commerce department’s investigation into the alleged dumping began in August 2017, and an International Trade Commission investigation began the following month.

The department says it will make its final determination in the investigation in August.

With files from The Canadian Press

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