Congressman Robert Aderholt, left, and Senator Doug Jones.

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones and Congressman Robert Aderholt both testified to the United States International Trade Commission Tuesday to defend local newspapers from a tariff that is driving up the cost of production.

The U.S. Commerce Department imposed a 22.16 percent import tariff on Canadian newsprint companies in March, and both legislators have been part of efforts to end the tariff and protect local newspapers.

In his statement to the commission, Aderholt said he supported President Donald Trump’s efforts to support American manufacturing jobs and put an end to unfair trade deals, but he believes the recent tariff placed on Canadian newsprint may do more harm than good.

“In the case of these tariffs, the cure could be worse than the cause. Although the tariffs are intended to support the U.S. newsprint paper industry, they could end up doing the exact opposite by forcing their customers in the newspaper industry out of business,” he said. “Increased production costs leave many papers with little choice but to use less newsprint, either by reducing days of distribution or shutting down print entirely. This negatively impacts coverage of local governments, high school sports, community news, and local events despite strong demand for printed newspapers from our nation’s seniors, as well as small towns and rural areas across the country.”

Aderholt said he believes the newsprint tariff should be suspended, and raising the price of newspapers around the country is not the answer to saving jobs in one state.

“This unique situation with newsprint shows the need for a tailored solution. The simple fact is that these tariffs which were requested to help roughly 300 jobs in Washington state, will potentially cost thousands of jobs nationwide as local newspapers go out of business,” he said. “Again, I support strong trade remedy laws and protecting American jobs from unfair foreign competition. However, this trade issue will not be solved in a week, and yet our local newspapers do go out every week. 

“Simply put, my concern is that tariffs on Canadian newsprint will cause further harm to many remaining newspapers and they will simply close their doors and cease publication. I suggest this is not the outcome any of us are looking for – especially given the reliance of our communities on local newspapers, even when those newspapers have gone from dailies to weeklies.”

Jones also spoke against the tariff, and said the number of jobs that are being protected by it is minuscule compared to the jobs that are at risk because of it.

“Here’s what I just don’t understand: why would this Administration levy these outrageous tariffs when our own newspaper publishers, logging industry, and paper suppliers do not support the decision?” he said. “It seems to me that the only thing being protected by this tariff is a small portion of a Wall Street hedge fund’s portfolio. It certainly isn’t protecting the 600,000 printing and publishing jobs across the country, including jobs at every newspaper in the state of Alabama.”

Jones said he has heard from newspaper publishers from around the state who are all saying the same thing — the tariff is hurting local newspapers.

“The alarm bells that are being rung by these small businesses are a chorus that you just cannot ignore. Please, do not ignore,” he said. “This tariff is killing jobs and threatening an industry that is vitally important for our communities and it is already struggling.

“While some big-named media outlets have found their footing in the digital age, that’s not the case for everyone. For many in small towns in Alabama and across the country, folks still like to get their news from actual newspapers. They still like to read a paper front to back. Hold it in hand. They cut the coupons. They read the local events calendar. They learn about what their local officials are doing or, in some cases, not doing. Frankly, there are still far too many places where Americans still struggle to get access to broadband. These folks don’t have the option to go online to get their news. The digital model just doesn’t work there, at least not yet.”

Aderholt’s full testimony can be heard here:

Jones’ full testimony can be heard here: