MADISON — A federal ruling allowing the U.S. government to put duties on paper being imported from Nova Scotia last month was good news for Madison Paper Industries. Given recent layoffs, mill closings and drops in tax revenue, it’s some of the only good news the paper industry has had lately in Maine. With the preliminary ruling issued July 27 in place, the U.S. Department of Commerce has started charging duties on paper from Nova Scotia’s Port Hawkesbury Paper, and mill officials in Madison hope the ruling will be upheld when a final decision is made in November. But the duties are only part of the puzzle in keeping mills like the one in Madison running. Thursday’s announcement that 300 workers will lose their jobs at Verso Corp.’s Androscoggin Mill in Jay was a harsh reminder of how precarious the industry is. At least one industry expert says that the new duties still won’t be enough to counter the decline in demand for paper, and Russ Drechsel, president of UPM Madison, said that until the region’s high energy costs are tackled, the mill will continue to suffer economically. The U.S. dollar is also getting stronger, a factor that was cited by Verso when it announced the impending layoffs scheduled to go into effect later this year. Energy costs were also cited as a factor in both that layoff and Verso closing its mill in Bucksport last year. Drechsel won’t comment on the long-term viability of the Madison mill, which employe
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