Free Speech

As if newspapers didn't already have it rough enough, they got caught in the middle of President Donald Trump's trade war. Higher tariffs on Canadian newsprint manufacturers took effect in January. On Aug. 2, the U.S. Department of Commerce reviewed and greenlighted the tariffs, though at a lower level (16.88 percent, down from 22) and on just one Canadian company, Catalyst. Members of Congress urged the International Trade Commission to overturn the tariff, and in an Aug. 23 letter to ITC Chair David Johanson, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, and 18 other members of Congress called for a reversal, writing: "We are told that since 2000, the demand for newsprint across the United State has decreased by 75 percent. This decline has been largely driven by changes in the newspaper industry and the adoption of online media by consumers, not unfair trade practices." The ITC agreed, and on Aug. 29, delivered good news for the newspaper industry with a 5-0 vote to undo the tariffs, finding no credible reason to uphold them.