All four members of Maine's Congressional Delegation are asking President Barack Obama to conduct and in-debth examination of China's alleged subsidization of its domestic paper industry.
Senator Olympia Snowe, who led the letter with Ron Wyden (D-OR) in the Senate, and Congressman Michaud, who led the letter with Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) in the House, were joined by over 100 lawmakers from 30 states.
The letter sent to President Obama strongly urges the administration to examine the practices of the Chinese government and to take action to remedy the situation.
A press release from the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) contends that "both labor and management agree that domestic paper jobs will remain in jeopardy because of illegal subsidies given to Chinese paper producers. From 2002 through the end of 2009, overall employment in the U.S. paper and paper products sector dropped 29 percent, from roughly 557,000 workers to 398,000." Should the subsidies continue, the AAM predicts that more jobs in the US will be lost.
Dear Mr. President:
We write to bring to your attention the damage caused to American manufacturing by the subsidies that China's paper industry receive, which are significant and market-distorting.
A recently released study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) documents the known subsidies that China's government provides its paper industry and the ensuing exponential growth of production and export sales of Chinese paper. These events correspond to an increasing U.S. trade deficit with China in paper. The EPI study shows that paper production in China tripled over the last ten years, despite global overcapacity, saturated markets, and no inherent advantage in the marketplace. It is clear to us that the rise of China's paper industry is less related to market forces than to a decision by China's government to implement an industrial policy that promotes domestic paper production.
America's paper industry is the most efficient in the world and is part of a supply chain that promotes sustainable forestry practices and good-paying jobs. This industry should not be asked to continue to compete on the unlevel playing field that China has constructed through heavy subsidization of domestic production. This is a critical period of time for the U.S. paper industry. Production in the U.S. has declined while China's surged. From 2002 through the end of 2009, U.S. employment in the paper and paper products sector dropped 29 percent, from roughly 557,000 workers to 398,000. In each of our states and districts, hardworking Americans still rely on the paper industry - both directly and indirectly - for their livelihoods and the chance for a decent, middle-class wage.
To that end, we urge you to carefully examine the practices employed by the Chinese government to provide its paper industry an artificial and unfair advantage in the U.S. market, and determine the extent to which these practices cause or threaten to cause harm to American producers. Such an analysis should be conducted to identify China's unfair trade practices in the paper industry and apply all appropriate and necessary remedies to combat those identified.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Sincerely,
Sen. Olympia Snowe
Sen. Susan Collins
Rep. Mike Michaud
Rep. Chellie Pingree
and 104 other Members of Congress
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