Orange, Texas - Congressman Kevin Brady toured Temple Inland's Orange linerboard mill Thursday.  Brady met the mill management staff and commended Temple Inland and its employees for their service to the community and their outstanding response to Hurricane Rita.

 

"Temple Inland and its employees were some of the first to begin clearing the roadways in Orange County and provided much needed supplies and equipment such as generators and installation expertise to Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital, the City of Orange's water and sewer plant, and area law enforcement command centers.  The are great neighbors and community partners in Orange," said Brady

 

Tom Sweetser, Temple Inland's Orange Mill Manager, answered Congressman Brady's questions as he led him on a tour of the facility.  Temple Inland received good news this week when on Tuesday, January 10, China repealed its antidumping duty order on kraft linerboard from the United States, following negotiations between the United States and China.  The United State Trade Representative was threatening to take China to the WTO over the issue had they not relented with the antidumping duty order.

 

The Temple Inland Mill produces an average of approximately 2,000 tons of linerboard each day, exporting some to Spain and Italy.  China is the second largest market for the U.S. producers as a whole, with exports exceeding $132 million in 2004, and the antidumping duties imposed by China are prohibitive for many of them.

 

"I am very pleased that the United States was successful in holding China accountable for fair trade practices, this victory is important to local manufactures like Temple Inland," said Brady.

 

China's decision to repeal its antidumping duty order on liner board is good news for the Orange Temple Inland linerboard mill that employs approximately 400 people in Orange with an annual payroll of almost 27 million dollars.  Temple Inland is the third largest producer of linerboard in the United States.