Newsprint tariffs hurt newspapers across the country - Entrepreneur Generations

"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," Catie Edmondson and Jaclyn Peiser report for The New York Times.

At The Gazette in Janesville, Wisc. (the hometown of House speaker Paul Ryan), newsprint tariffs are increasing its annual printing costs by $740,000, prompting the paper to lay off staff and use narrower paper, which reduces the number of stories it can publish, Edmondson and Peiser report.

Last week the Commerce Department ruled that it will continue imposing tariffs on Canadian newsprint, though and a lower rate and on a smaller scale. But newspapers will still feel the pain: at least a dozen newspapers across the country have cut publication days, and, according to a new study, American newsprint prices will increase more than 30 percent within the next two years and costs for newspapers and printers will increase about half a billion dollars, the Times reports.

The United States International Trade Commission could overturn or alter Commerce's decision, but it's too late for at least one newspaper. The Jackson County Times-Journal in Ohio recently shut down, citing declining print readership and the tariffs.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2Me34sA Newsprint tariffs hurt newspapers across the country - Entrepreneur Generations

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