Domestic output normally has supplied more than 99 percent of the aggregate consumption of dairy products in the United States. Imports have been considerably smaller during the 1930's than in the preceding decade. They are composed predominantly of cheese of high-priced specialty types. Exports, on the other hand, have consisted chiefly of evaporated and condensed milk, dried milk, and infants' food, malted milk, etc. Exports customarily have been less than half as large as imports.

Table 1 presents a summary of the United States production, imports, and exports of the four main groups of dairy products in the years for which production statistics are available.

TABLE 1.-Dairy products: Summary of United States production, imports, and

exports

For fluid consumption.

Composed of condensed and evaporated milk, dried milk, ice cream, casein, etc.

Source: Production statistics are from data especially prepared for this report by the Agricultural Marketing Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Imports and exports are compiled by the U. S. Tariff Commission from official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce.

IMPORTS AND IMPORT CONCESSIONS

Reductions in the United States rates of duty made under trade agreements now in effect apply to approximately two-fifths of the total imports of dairy products, as is shown in table 2, in which the imports of concession and nonconcession items are shown separately in specified pre- and post-agreement years for comparative purposes. Statistics for 3 pre-agreement years are shown; these represent estimated not actual imports because several types of cheese upon which the United States granted concessions were not separately classified before the trade agreements. More than 95 percent of the imports affected by the concessions have consisted of cheese. The principal non-concession items include Italian-type cheese, butter, and casein.

On the basis of imports in 1938 the average reduction in duty on imports of all dairy products was 15 percent; the average reduction on concession products alone was 33 percent.

TABLE 2.-Dairy products: United States imports for consumption of (a) all products, (b) all products upon which concessions were granted in trade agreements, and (c) all products upon which concessions were not granted in trade agreements

Includes fluid milk and cream, dried milk, casein, etc. No concession has been made on butter. For imports of butter, see table 1. The duty reductions in this group are mainly on fluid milk and cream, and are limited to specified quantities (see table 3).

NOTE.-The imports of concession and nonconcession cheese items in 1929, 1931, and 1933 are estimated not actual imports, inasmuch as certain types of cheese upon which the United States granted concessions were not separately classified before the trade agreements.

Source: Compiled by the U. S. Tariff Commission from official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce.

Table 3 lists all the items upon which concessions have been granted and the principal nonconcession items. Statistics of imports are also shown, where available, in specified pre- and post-agreement years. Imports in 1929 are not shown, because most of the types of cheese were not separately classified at that time. Furthermore, in the preagreement years shown, statistics of imports were reported separately for only two of the several kinds of cheese; imports of the other types were not reported separately before the trade agreements.

Table 4 shows the principal sources of United States imports of the trade agreement items listed in table 3. Except in the case of blue-mold cheese, the tradeagreement country receiving a concession on a particular dairy product has also been by far the principal source of imports of that item. The concession on bluemold cheese in the French agreement particularly benefited Denmark and Italy.

NONCESSION ITEMS, RATE OF DUTY, JAN. 1, 1940

7 Less than $500.

Source: Statistics of imports are compiled by the U. S. Tariff Commission from official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce.

TABLE 4.-Dairy products: United States imports of trade agreement items by principal countries

Statistics for 1931, 1933, and 1935 are estimates. Cheddar cheese was not shown separately from "other cheese" before 1936, but most of the cheese imported from Canada consists of Cheddar. Moreover, practically all of the imports of Cheddar come from Canada.

* Estimated in 1931, 1933, and 1935 when Edam and Gouda were not separately classified.

4 Less than $500.

Not separately classified before 1936.

Source: Compiled by the U. S. Tariff Commission from official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce.

Cheese.

Measured by the value of imports, the concessions granted on dairy products have applied mainly to cheese. As the result of trade agreements with six foreign countries, tariff reductions have been made on eight specific kinds of cheese,1 imports of which have represented somewhat less than half the total value of cheese imports. Based upon imports in 1938, these concessions represented a decrease of one-sixth in the equivalent ad valorem of the duties collected on imports of all cheese and a decrease of one-third for concession items only.

In 1938 imports of chesse were valued at $11,500,000 and were equal in value to 12 percent of domestic production; but since the average unit value of the imports is higher than that of the domestic production, the quantity of imports, 54,400,000 pounds, was equal to 7.5 percent of domestic output. (See table 5 for other years.) Over half of total imports (including nonconcession items) consists of types which are of minor importance in domestic production. Cheddar cheese (commonly known as American) and Swiss cheese are produced in substantial volume in the United States. There is little or no domestic commercial production of the other concession items.

1 The concession on imports of Bryndza cheese in the Czechoslovak agreement was terminated on April 22, 1939, following the suspension of the agreement on March 23, 1939.