ITC Holds Hearing on Aluminum Printing Plate Tariffs

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) held a hearing on September 17 to consider proposed tariffs on Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from China and Japan. A range of impacted businesses testified against the tariffs, but no party testified in favor of new tariffs on printing plates. Adam Meyer, Publisher of The Jackson Hole News & Guide and COO of Teton Media Works in Jackson, Wyoming, testified that the trade case and resulting duties will cause serious harm to the news media industry. A portion of the testimony centered around whether customers switch suppliers due to quality or price. The commissioners held a closed-door session, followed by closing arguments. The ITC will vote and make a final determination about whether injury has occurred on October 22. On November 4, the ITC will issue a written rationale for the decision. The Department of Commerce (Commerce) has until September 20 to sign final anti-dumping and countervailing determinations. The hearing record is attached. The DC Journal ran an op-ed from the Alliance on September 17 urging the ITC to reject the tariffs