Washington, D.C. – American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Commerce decision to initiate an anti-circumvention investigation regarding uncoated free sheet paper in rolls from Australia, China, Indonesia, and Brazil. Commerce’s initiation clears the way for its formal investigation into the alleged circumvention.

“As a supporter of free and fair trade policies, AF&PA applauds the decision by the U.S. Commerce Department. U.S. trade laws must be enforced to ensure that U.S. companies and workers are not harmed by unfair trade practices. Today’s decision to initiate an investigation marks an important phase of work, where information will be gathered and analyzed.

“Petitions requesting the investigation filed with the department on August 2 represent an effort to ensure that foreign producers do not circumvent the payment of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on uncoated free sheet paper in sheet form where orders have been in place since early 2016. The investigation will review whether imports of sheeter rolls are circumventing the duties.

“The U.S. paper industry operates in a highly-competitive global market. Government enforcement of domestic and international trade rules is important to safeguard the health of the U.S. paper industry and for markets to function properly.”