U.S. newsprint producers took significant steps to maintain their competitiveness in U.S. and foreign markets in recent years, says the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in its report Industry and Trade Summary: Newsprint.

The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, recently released the report as part of an ongoing series of reports on thousands of products imported into and exported from the United States. The report covers the years 1994 through 1999. Following are highlights from the report:

• In recent years, U.S. newsprint producers have closed high cost capacity, undertaken capital spending programs to reduce costs and increase productivity and product quality, and bought foreign newsprint mills to gain access to other newsprint markets.

• U.S. shipments of newsprint rose from 6.4 million metric tons (mmt) in 1995 to 6.5 mmt in 1999. During this same period, newsprint imports declined from 7.1 mmt to 6.8 mmt; import penetration fell from 56 percent in 1995 to 54 percent in 1999. Canada accounted for over 90 percent of U.S. newsprint imports during 1995-99. Other suppliers included Korea, Russia, and Indonesia. Leading markets for U.S. newsprint exports were Japan, Mexico, and Brazil.

• Daily newspapers account for almost 80 percent of newsprint demand in the United States. Newspapers' demand for newsprint is a function of their circulation and their advertising revenues, which have faced pressure from alternative media such as television, radio, and magazines for many years. The rapid emergence of the Internet as a new source of information and advertising poses further challenges to newspapers and hence to demand for newsprint in the United States.

• Canada is the world's largest producer and exporter of newsprint. The United States is the second-largest newsprint producer; other major producers include Japan, Sweden, Korea, and Germany. The United States is the world's largest consumer of newsprint, accounting for almost one-third of world demand in 1998. The European Union and Japan accounted for 25 percent and 11 percent, respectively, of world newsprint demand in 1998.

• Imports of newsprint enter the United States free of duty. Newsprint tariffs in major U.S. export markets are the same or higher than the U.S. level. Japan and Mexico, the two largest U.S. export markets, allow duty-free entry for U.S. newsprint.

ITC Industry and Trade Summary reports include information on product uses, U.S. and foreign producers, and customs treatment of the products being studied; they analyze the basic factors affecting trends in consumption, production, and trade of the commodities, as well as factors bearing on the competitiveness of the U.S. industry in domestic and foreign markets.

This report will be available on the ITC Internet web site at www.usitc.gov. A printed copy may be ordered without charge by calling 202-205-1809, or by writing the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may be faxed to 202-205-2104.