Trade war threatens the U.S. newspaper industry
The newspapers, like the staff, are leaner than they were a decade ago, with fewer reporters to write about crime, the school board and youth sports and to craft obituaries for their aging readership. And now they’re facing a new and unexpected threat: President Trump’s confrontational trade policies. Last year, in one of the Trump administration’s first actions on trade, the U.S. government imposed tariffs on Canadian lumber. A few months later, it added tariffs on Canadian uncoated groundwood paper. The result has been a jump in the cost of newsprint, the second-biggest operating expense, after salaries, for most newspapers. Rogers and fellow news executives across the country are now bracing for price increases that could exceed 30 percent, forcing tough budget decisions and potentially driving some community papers out of business. “This may be the thing that pushes us across the line,” Rogers said. “We’re all kind of close to that edge.” Click Read More below for additional information.