US trade association the Print & Graphic Communications Association is pleading with US authorities not to impose tariffs on aluminium printing plates.
In a letter to the International Trade Commission the association claims that the proposed tariffs will increase costs for printers and therefore threaten production of printed materials for US business. The association represents 400 printers in the North East of the US centred on New York.
Co-president of the PGCA Tim Freeman says: “The imposition of additional tariffs on printing plates will reduce competition in the printing plate market and could leave printing and publishing companies with fewer options for affordable, quality printing plates. We urge the ITC to reject new duties on aluminum printing plates.”
The ITC has ruled that plates imported from Asia are less expensive than they should be due to unfair government support. This has led to imposition of tariffs, which could be hiked following a public hearing in the US on 12 September. This will consider whether to impose additional anti dumping and countervailing duties on plates from China and Japan, which could reach 200%.
Kodak has led the complaints arguing that it needs to protect production in the US to ensure the long term viability of the printing industry. It has argued that destroying domestic production would leave US printers vulnerable to future price hikes or supply restrictions. “We are protecting local print production. We have seen how this sort of activity unwinds in other industries, pharmaceuticals for instance and how that destroys local manufacture and jobs,” Kodak has said. It is the last plate producer making plates in North America.
However, the imposition of a 38.5% tariff will increase plate prices in North America, resulting in damage to smaller printers. PBCA co-president Melissa Jones says: “If aluminum printing plate suppliers were forced to leave the US market because of the imposition of new tariffs, there could be a de facto monopoly in the printing plate market and an inability for the market to meet existing demand for printing and graphic communication companies.”
Any decision in the US is likely to be looked at by authorities in the Europe, particularly if Asian producers seek to step up activities in Europe.
