NewPage

• NewPage, along with other representatives of US pulp and paper industry, has lodged a subsidies and dumping complaint with the International Trade Commission against Chinese and Indonesian pulp and paper producers.
• In 2009, NewPage received $136 million in subsidies from the US government for powering their plants on ‘black liquor’, a standard practice in the industry before subsidies were introduced. Without the subsidy, NewPage would have suffered a loss of $308 million in 2009 alone.
• According to Rick Willett, president and chief executive officer of NewPage Corporation, "Domestic manufacturers enjoy numerous cost advantages over their Chinese and Indonesian competitors for paper used in our domestic marketplace, including abundant, well managed forest resources, energy and raw materials, as well as lower transportation and logistics costs.” These claims are patently untrue, as NewPage would have lost $308 million without US subsidies.
• While China’s labor contribution may only be 4% in smaller companies compared to 8% in U.S. companies, the difference is significant in an industry with tight profit margins. This represents a significant difference in cost – illustrating the US paper producers’ lack of competitiveness.
• NewPage is burdened by heavy debts, with interest payments alone costing the company more than US$400m last year. It has specifically cited drops in demand for coated papers and difficulty competing with Chinese and Indonesian imports for its financial woes.

Other Groups: