Trump’s Tariffs on Canadian Newsprint Hasten Local Newspapers’ Demise

The Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on Canadian newsprint is hastening the demise of local newspapers across the country, forcing already-struggling publications to cut staff, reduce the number of days they print and, in at least one case, shutter entirely. A Charles River Associates study undertaken on behalf of a coalition of printers, publishers and paper suppliers projects that American newsprint prices will increase more than 30 percent in the next one to two years, and that newspapers and printers will face an increased cost of roughly half a billion dollars from the remaining five American mills producing newsprint. The study was filed with the United States International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency that governs trade.