Commerce Department seeking answers
to additional questions like:
• Is there an appeal from a denied
exclusion request?
• How much detail will the Commerce
Department provide for a denied or
accepted exclusion request?
• How will customs handle the
importation of materials if a company is
only granted partial exclusion of their
materials, and what reporting requirements
will there be?
APTech will report answers to these
questions on its “Tariff Portal” that it
is launching on its website to bring all
the government, media, and industry
information together in one easily
accessible place for its members. “Th is
is intended to be a two-way interactive
site,” said Nuzzaco. “We want
our members to keep pace with the
frequent developments of this evolving
tariff landscape, fi nd the information
they need to navigate the complex
exclusion process and give us feedback
on how they are being impacted.”
(In early June, APTech President Th ayer
Long wrote to the Administration
about the problems the tariff would pose
for the industry, available online here:
https://www.printtechnologies.org/
IndustryAdvocacy/letter-to-the-president
aluminum-tariff /
Th e Printing Industries of America has
also launched a grassroots call to action
regarding the tariff s. From PIA’s press
release:
“If your company is impacted by Section
232 tariff s, sharing your tangible example
with lawmakers is vital to help the Trump
Administration and Congress understand
the real-life impact of trade policy on the
printing and graphic communications
industry,” said Michael Makin, President
and CEO of PIA. “PIA stands ready to
work with Congress to advocate solutions
that both combat unfair trade practices and
avoid harming printing companies.”
And it’s not just the litho plate manufacturers.
Companies in the signmaking
industry also use a lot of aluminum and
steel for signs and extrusions.
“We’re starting to see that the industry
is having to pay higher prices for these
materials,” said David Hickey, Vice
President of Advocacy for the International
Sign Association (ISA). “It can be
really diffi cult when suppliers or sign
companies are locked into jobs that were
quoted prior to the tariff s being put in
place, and they don’t have the ability
to renegotiate their selling price. We’re
also hearing that sheet suppliers can’t
consider holding prices beyond the current
month, or even shorter than that,
making quoting future jobs and large
programs very diffi cult.”
Th e Law of Unintended Consequences
has led to some high-profi le abandonment
of some U.S. manufacturing, such
as by Harley-Davidson. Th at’s not a
scenario any plate manufacturer—or
any company really—wants to consider...
unless it becomes the only viable option.
“We have over 200 employees in
the United States that are involved in
the direct manufacture of litho plates
in Columbus, Georgia,” said Rindo.
“You certainly don’t want to jeopardize
U.S. jobs because of a tariff —and we’re
not saying that we have any plans on
doing anything like that. We’re very
happy with our Columbus manufacturing
plant.”
Still it’s a cost that adds up and companies
aren’t able to just eat the extra cost,
especially the way the off set printing
market has been going.
“Based on the current importation volume
of lithographic grade aluminum for
plate production in the U.S., we estimate
that the total impact of this cost increase
is in excess of $20 million annually for
all companies who manufacture in the
U.S.,” said Mertens, clarifying, “this is
not the impact for Agfa, but for the entire
plate market.”
At present—or until an exemption is
granted—there are two options.
“It is something that we really have to
fi gure out how to address,” said Rindo.
“In the past, we have done everything
we can do with productivity increases in
our plants, looking for every effi ciency
we possibly can.”
Both Kodak and Agfa are working to
improve production effi ciencies so as to
absorb cost increases, but there is only
so much a manufacturer can do that it
hasn’t already done. Th e only other option
is to, as they say, pass the cost onto
the consumer.
“We want to make it as fi nancially
viable as possible for our customers
because controlling their costs is very
important to still have print as a viable
medium when you look at all the communication
choices that people have,”
said Rindo. “And it’s very important that
we try to keep our customers as cost
competitive as possible.”
“If the tariff s remain in eff ect and if
no exclusions are granted, the impact of
this cost increase will cascade through
the entire value chain and ultimately
increase the cost of print,” said Mertens.
“We feel that the best mechanism to
address this would be a surcharge as it
is very measureable and can easily be
rescinded should tariff s be revoked or
exclusions granted.”
Although Agfa, as of post time, has not
pulled the trigger on a surcharge or cost
increase, since I spoke with Kodak, the
company released this statement:
Despite internal cost reductions and
improved operational productivity, the
additional cost from these new US tariff s
cannot be sustained by Kodak alone. As
such, Kodak is compelled to utilize to
institute a tariff surcharge for U.S. plates
customers.
Separate from any costs or profi ts
associated with providing Kodak products
to customers, the tariff surcharge will be
treated exclusively as a pass-through. Our
intent is to keep this surcharge separate
from product billing, and transparent to our
customers. As such, the surcharge will be
removed if Kodak receives a positive ruling
on the exclusion from the Department of
Commerce—or if the tariff itself is lift ed. If
the company is reimbursed for the additional
10% in aluminum tariff s it has paid, these
monies will be turned around as a refund
to customers who helped bear the burden of
these additional costs.
Th e other major plate supplier to the
industry, Fujifi lm, sent this statement:
Fujifi lm is fully engaged in the administrative
process for the review of the proposed
tariff s and is working diligently on behalf
of its customers to ensure our top quality
products can continue to be supplied at
competitive prices.
“Th e bottom line is, it’s bad trade
policy,” said Nuzzaco. “It doesn’t help
the industry, especially when combined
with other tariff s. It just makes it that
much worse.” Speaking to this bigger
picture, APTech has allied itself with
the Alliance for Competitive Steel and
Aluminum Trade, a multi-industry
coalition managed by the National
Foreign Trade Council, another coalition
opposing the 301 Chinese tariff s, and the
STOPP coalition fi ghting anti-dumping
and countervailing duties on Canadian
UGW paper.
“APTech is working to persuade the
President to moderate his stance on
these troubling tariff s,” said Nuzzaco,
“but we are prepared to help our
members weather this trade storm for
however long it lasts.”
PrintingNewscom August 2018 Printing News 35
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