During a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing Thursday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) questioned subsidies going to a paper mill in Port Hawkesbury, Canada.
Collins questioned Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker about these funds, with Pritzker responding that she is committed to improving international trade agreements. Pritzker also said she will regularly update the Maine delegation about the mill’s subsidies.
Collins,
Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) wrote Pritzker in January, asserting these subsidies negatively affect Maine businesses and workers. Pritzker said the matter was in the hands of the Department of Commerce, which has the responsibility of maintaining trade partners’ accountability.
“We will continue to urge the United States Department of Commerce to do everything within their power to help put an end to these unfair subsidies and protect our Maine jobs,” the lawmakers said. “These unfair trade practices are hurting our paper mills and leaving the lives of their hardworking employees and Maine families in uncertainty.”
The Coalition for Fair Paper Imports recently filed a petition saying paper producers in Canada are benefiting from funds from the U.S. government.
Two Maine firms — Verso Corp. and Madison Paper Industries — also are part of the petition. Madison said it has laid off Maine workers because the company cannot keep up with its subsidized competition in Canada.