• by Ray Schultz , September 15, 2024

Publishers have taken another stab at fighting tariffs on aluminum lithographic printing plate imports from Japan and China.

The proposed duties “have the potential to devastate entire industry segments, increase costs for businesses and their customers, jeopardize jobs, limit supply, and threaten the viability of many American small businesses,” a coalition of publishers and other businesses wrote on Friday in a letter to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). 

The letter continues: “The printing, publishing, paper-producing, and mailing industries employ account for approximately 8.5 million jobs in the United States and represent five percent of the nation’s total civilian labor force. Our industries are already trying to navigate significant financial challenges, and the preliminary duties on aluminum printing plates that are currently in place are making matters worse. 

Very high duties of 200% for China and 87% for Japan were preliminarily imposed earlier this year. The ITC is now considering whether to allow them to continue, and will hold a hearing on Tuesday, September 17. 

The letter was signed by:

• AAN Publishers
• American Commerce Marketing Association America’s Newspapers
• Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) 
• Association of American Publishers
• Book Manufacturers’ Institute
• International Sign Association
• National Small Business Association
• News/Media Alliance
• PRINTING United Alliance
• 1Vision