A private-equity firm called One Rock Capital got the Commerce Department to levy tariffs on imported newsprint over the objections of the U.S. press, Canadian government and bipartisan lawmakers, according to a Monday Wall Street Journal report.
The company reportedly approached Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross about how Canadian newsprint imports were hurting its business, resulting in tariffs that lifted newsprint prices by 30 percent.
For U.S. newspapers, the cost of newsprint is usually the second-greatest expense after personnel, making this increase a significant burden that could lead to layoffs and closures.
“This whole play by Norpac basically disrupted an entire industry,” Paul Boyle, senior vice president at the News Media Alliance, told the Wall Street Journal.
“My cynical side says you’ve got an administration that happens to be not a big fan of the print publications generally,” Kevin Mason, an analyst at ERA Forest Products Research, added.
The White House reportedly called the claims “ridiculous” and Ross maintained that this was a “complicated and unique case,” and that the tariffs successfully punish “bad actors.”
I think this says a couple things…
Wilbur Ross… ONLY the best
Since many American farmers are hurting in the tariff wars, is this meant to imply they are ‘bad actors’ who deserve punishment?
OOPS and Bad Gateway day… has hit me at least a dozen time already… this is what week 8 or 10 and still not fixed…
So just who owns this private company that apparently owns some newsprint suppliers? And how much did they donate to the GOP last cycle?