Antitrust investigations by the European Commission against two paper companies that operate in Northeastern Minnesota have been dropped.
Stora Enso Oyj, which has paper and recycling mills in Duluth and various Wisconsin locations, and UPM Kymmene, which operates the Blandin paper mill in Grand Rapids, issued statements Thursday saying they had been informed the investigations were closed. Other paper companies also were involved.
The investigations included publication paper, label paper and self-adhesive labelstock markets.
The U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the labelstock market in 2003, but after UPM cooperated, the Justice Department, European Union authorities and other countries gave the company full or partial immunity from prosecution.
