US tariffs halt paper mill in Canada — BBC News

In the Canadian town of Témiscaming, Quebec, U.S. company RYAM has suspended operations at a paper mill indefinitely. For more than a century, the mill had been the community’s main employer and economic backbone. Most of the facility’s 360 workers have lost their jobs and are currently receiving partial payments under a government assistance program due to the tariffs, BBC News reports.

The plant was shut down in early October after trade negotiations between Canada and the United States collapsed and Washington introduced new tariffs. In August, the United States imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods with a total value of about CAD 28 billion, including lumber, pulp and paper products.

The mill produces cardboard for packaging frozen food as well as scratch lottery tickets. About 75% of its output was supplied to the United States, making the facility particularly dependent on the U.S. market.

Consequences for the community

Residents of Témiscaming fear that a prolonged closure of the mill will affect not only its workers, but also local shops, the hospital, logging companies, sawmills and transport operators. One local contractor told the BBC that he had already laid off 13 people. According to the outlet, property values in the town fell almost immediately, while many homes were put up for sale.

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Témiscaming Mayor Alain Gauthier called the U.S. tariffs a blow to Canadian manufacturing and urged Ottawa to impose tariffs on cardboard products from the United States, which currently enter Canada duty-free. A representative of Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the government had allocated CAD 400 million to support the forestry sector in rural and remote areas and had also launched a program for companies affected by tariffs.

Plan to buy back the mill

Workers and local residents are forming a coalition to buy the plant from RYAM. A similar scenario occurred in 1973, when the then-U.S. owner threatened to close the mill: workers and managers bought it and created the Quebec company Tembec.

RYAM did not comment on a possible sale of the facility or potential buyers. The Canadian government said it was working with all parties to find a viable solution. Workers hope that the U.S. tariffs will be lifted before winter, as severe frosts could damage the idle plant’s equipment and complicate its restart.