If Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products goes into effect as threatened, one of the immediate victims will be America newspaper publishers, who are reliant on Canadian newsprint.
According to a recent story in the Columbia Journalism Review:
Canada has long been a major supplier of American newsprint—it now provides an estimated 80 percent of the paper used by US newspapers. A tariff would add a significant burden to publishers already struggling with high costs of production and thin margins, and analysts say the mere looming threat of one has complicated life for printers. “There is no scenario under which this is cost-positive for the media industry,” said Brett House, a professor of professional practice at the Columbia Business School. “Almost anything that is done here is going to be increasing prices for newsprint.”
John Galer, the publisher of the Journal-News in Hillsboro, Illinois, said the new tariffs represent more than just a financial setback. He publishes eight newspapers and prints nineteen other publications at his press, serving rural communities that often have no other dedicated source of news. His publications rely entirely on Canadian newsprint, and he estimates a 25 percent tariff would increase his costs by about twenty thousand dollars a year, forcing him to increase his prices. “I like to stay hopeful,” he said. “But right now, we’re all just waiting to see what happens next.” (Galer learned of the postponement of the tariffs from a text message as we were speaking on the phone. “I don’t get it,” he muttered.)
Trump, who has no love for newspapers and their nosy reporters, may welcome the demise of more newspapers as a result of the increasaed cost of newsprint.
Carpenter Media Group owns the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and MidWeek, as well as newspapers on Kauai and Hawaii Island, which are among about 250 papers the company holds in the U.S. and Canada, many in the southern states of including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky.
The impacts are likely to include continuing staff cutbacks across the industy, increases in subscription prices and a resulting decline in print readership. None of this is good news for already struggling newspapers.
Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, chair of the National Newspaper Association, told CJR that the uncertainty has been hitting newspapers even before the tariffs go into effect.
“It’s affecting our customers who are, for instance, holding back from making decisions about advertising,” she said.
“I just don’t know why we are doing this,” she said. “It seems like instead of making America great, we’re just making America scared.”
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I can think of at least two solutions to this problem: (1) Canada can become a part of the U.S.A., in which case there would be zero tariff; or (2) American newspaper owners could start buying their newsprint from American producers (thus no tariff), creating jobs for Americans and profits that would be taxed by U.S.A. thereby helping reduce the federal budget deficit. And anyway, isn’t our local monopoly newspaper, and many others throughout U.S.A., owned by a Canadian company? For many years our local newspaper has engaged in outrageous manipulation of the price it charges for a subscription, forcing some people to pay many times more than others for the same product — typical behavior of a monopolist. I have no sympathy (especially in light of their editorial views).
The problem with “buy American” scenario is that the capacity is not there. The U.S. produces only a small fraction of what newspapers currently consume, and this is not the type of industry that lends itself to quick upscaling. So those “jobs for Americans” you speak of are not in the cards, unfortunately.
From a news industry fact sheet: “ In 2023, Canada produced approximately 80% of newsprint, 2.1 metric tons,
while the United States produced only 421,000 metric tons. U.S. companies do not even supply certain
types of newsprint paper, where it can only be sourced in Canada. ”
I’m no fan of Trump and I’m not even sure I know what newsprint is but would agree with Ken on this one. It seems to me that whatever we can do to encourage bringing jobs back to the US is worth a try. Usually the jobs are good paying and have the lofty goal of increasing the middle class.
Please see my reply to Ken. The capacity of US producers cannot fill the void.
Not to belabor the point, won’t US capacity eventually increase to fill the demand? Initially the cost to the newspapers may be higher because of the tariff but supply will increase to meet demand or, in time, possibly decease due to competition within the US. Not to mention developing technology that may make newsprint obsolete or not so dependent on natural resources. I believe I have read that newspapers are encouraging the use of digital subscriptions because it is more profitable. Maybe our differences in point of view is why John McCain once said he wants to meet a one handed economist because they are always quick to say after making a point: “on the other hand.” I don’t pretend to know much about economics.
Chris McKenzie I agree with you. Lao Tzu said “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” For decades America has outsourced more and more of our manufacturing and raw materials to other nations, to the point where we would not be able to sustain our own existence without importing them. If something is essential to our survival, we need to bring it back to using our own internally-generated resources. In the present discussion about newsprint, the first question should be: Do we really need hardcopy printed newspapers? If we’re willing to rely solely on electronic publication then we don’t need newsprint. If hardcopy printed newspapers are important to us, then we need to revive U.S. production of newsprint to a sufficient level to fill our requirements. Yes, there will be some economic dislocations along the way, such as rising costs for newsprint because of tariffs whose purpose is to protect American jobs and factories by forcing production to be done inside USA. Some inefficient or bloated newspapers might not survive, but that’s the price for self-sufficiency. Personally, I enjoy holding a real newspaper in my hands and reading it from the comfort of my couch or armchair rather than only on a computer. And I enjoy solving puzzles or clipping out ads and coupons that are actually printed. I will regret it when they are gone like horse carriages and buggy-whips. But I’m a big boy, and I can handle it. Folks who have pensions or friendship circles from print media which go defunct have my sympathy but not my political support.
I have some different points to respond to/ponder:
1) Why do you think Trump (and a ton of the population) doesn’t like a lot of news organizations?
2) How did our Country get to this point of being alarmingly economically subservient to other Countries?
3) Is keeping the economic status quo in our best interests in the long-term?