PULP & PAPER SECTOR: INPUT SOUGHT FOR ITAC REVIEW

PULP & PAPER SECTOR: INPUT SOUGHT FOR ITAC REVIEW

• 17 September 2026
• Trade, Industry & Competition
• SA Legal Academy

The International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) has gazetted a notice announcing a sector-wide paper and paper products review with the aim of recommending ‘appropriate trade policy instruments’ for strengthening ‘resilience’ and ensuring ‘sustainability’. With that in mind, stakeholders are invited to submit comments by 15 October 2026 using the questionnaire provided at the end of this report.

According to the notice, the sector in general is under ‘tremendous strain’, with the following segments being hardest hit:

• uncoated paper
• newsprint
• packaging, and
• tissue.

‘Growing challenges’ include:

• ‘rising import penetration’
• the ‘declining demand for print paper’
• the ‘slowdown in the domestic economy’, and
• ‘increasing input costs’ (‘particularly electricity and transportation expenses’).

‘If these challenges are not effectively addressed, the economy risks losing significant industrial investments, employment opportunities, and the economic sustainability of many rural communities … depend(ant) on the sector’.

Among other things, the investigation may also consider the impact of:

• US trade policy
• the Middle East conflict
• global market conditions, and
• exchange rate fluctuations.

Please click the links below for more information:

• notice
• questionnaire

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

Follow us on X @SALegalAcademy (you can also join us on LinkedIn and Facebook)

If you use this information in articles, reports and social media posts of your own, please acknowledge SA Legal Academy Policy Watch as your source

0 COMMENTS

LEAVE A COMMENT