We’ve already alerted you to AAN’s membership in the STOPP Coalition, a group of printers, publishers, paper suppliers and distributors who have joined together to fight proposed government tariffs on newsprint.  Unfortunately, on March 13, the Department of Commerce released preliminary anti-dumping duties that range from 0 to 22.16 percent depending upon the manufacturer.  We are already seeing the effects of that decision as duties are being imposed at the border.  We’ve heard from one AAN member who was told that its printing price would be increasing immediately – adding a cost of $700 per issue.

Many of you are already aware of this but we want to provide some additional action items for you to consider. What can you do about this?  Among other things:

• Educate yourself.  If you’re not familiar with the issue, you can read some background here.
• Write about this.  Whether its press coverage or an editorial, the more people – including the public – understand what’s at stake, the more change we have of changing minds before the International Trade Commission reconvenes in the late summer to issue a final ruling.  You can get some ideas and inspiration here.
• Contact your Member of Congress. Again, if you don’t know what to say, the STOPP Coalition has you covered with a formatted letter available on its website.
• Or, just run one of the free advertisements created by the STOPP Coalition.  You can choose between a full page ad or quarter page ad, both of which can be edited to include your logo.

And, as always, you can contact AAN Legal Counsel Kevin M. Goldberg at 703-812-0462 or goldberg@fhhlaw.com for more information.