Wisconsin Rapids’ largest employer is filing petitions against some foreign companies, saying they are endangering area jobs.

NewPage Corporation’s executive chairman says they have opened cases against Chinese and Indonesian papermakers they allege are engaging in illegal trade practices.

NewPage Chairman Mark Suwyn says right now some foreign companies are shipping their surplus products to the US and selling them at drastically reduced prices because their governments are illegally subsidizing the rest of their costs.

Suwyn says that is making it incredibly difficult for NewPage to be competitive in the marketplace. So now, the company is looking to level the playing field.

NewPage recently filed a petition with the Department of Commerce to look into whether there are problems with the foreign papermakers’ trade practices. Suwyn says he is confident the agency will conclude there is.

NewPage has also opened a case with the International Trade Commission. That agency is going to look at whether the trade standards of those companies are harming the papermaking industry here at home.

"I think that the shut down in Kimberly and Niagara and recently the facility in Michigan demonstrates a tremendous amount of harm,” Suwyn said.

The chairman believes if these government agencies side with NewPage and impose charges on the foreign companies, NewPage should once again be competitive in the marketplace. If and when that happens, Suwyn thinks local jobs will be saved and perhaps some new ones created. His dream is that it would lead to some previously closed mills reopening.