in 1947 the average was about 89 cents per pound and in 1948 about 57 cents per pound. British Malaya and the Netherlands Indies have been the principal sources Most of the imports from British Malaya probably originated in the of supply. Netherlands Indies and were sent to Singapore for repacking. Table 2.- Crude gutta-percha and gutta siak: United States 1/There were no imports in 1943. 3/ Includes 280 thousand pounds, valued at 57 thousand dollars, from Ceylon. Includes 621 thousand pounds, valued at 71 thousand dollars, from Brazil. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. 2/ Preliminary. Imports of gutta balata averaged about 1.2 million pounds a year during 193739, valued at $200,000 (see table 3). They increased during the war, amounting in 1943 to about 2.3 million pounds, valued at $709,000, and were at a record level of about 5.1 million pounds in 1946, valued at 2.2 million dollars. Thereafter inports declined and in 1948 totaled about 2.7 million pounds, valued at $805,000. The average unit value of imported balata increased from 17 cents per pound in 1939 to 51 cents in 1947, and was 30 cents in 1948. Brazil, Venezuela, Surinam, and Colombia have been the principal sources of supply. Brazil UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION CRUDE GUTTA-PERCHA, GUTTA SIAK, AND GUTTA BALATA Table 3.- Crude gutta balata: United States imports for Country Venezuela Surinam Colombia Republic of Panama 2/ All other Total Brazil Venezuela Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION CRUDE INDIA (NATURAL) RUBBER, INCLUDING GUAYULE (PAR. 1697) Tariff Status Par. 1697. India (natural) rubber, crude, including guayule, was free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, and is free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. The duty-free status of crude natural rubber was bound in the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, effective January 1, 1939, and also in the trade agreement with Peru and in the Geneva agreement. The duty-free status of guayule rubber, crude, was bound in the trade agreement with Mexico, effective January 30, 1943, and also in the Geneva agreement. The duty-free status of latex was bound in the Annecy agreement, but this binding was not made effective on January 1, 1950. Prior to January 1940 crepe sole rubber was administratively classified as crude natural rubber and imported duty free under tariff par. 1697. At that time, a Treasury ruling ordered the product to be classified under par. 1558 at 20 percent ad valorem. The matter was litigated and in April 1944 the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals held crepe sole rubber to be free of duty under par. 1697. Source: Quantity Long tons 467,146 601,114 499,616 59,917 386,180 711,513 735,358 Foreign value 1,000 dollars 119,169 248,495 178,518 36,313 231,255 318,232 309,209 Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note. There is practically no United States production of natural rubber; United States reexports of natural rubber generally vary from 4,000 to 11,000 long tons annually. 877032 O-50 - 9 UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION CRUDE INDIA (NATURAL) RUBBER, INCLUDING GUAYULE Comment Description and uses The This summary covers natural rubber,which is obtained from plants yielding a milky rubber-bearing juice called latex. The most important kind of natural rubber included here is that from the Hevea tree which is indigenous to the Amazon River regions of South America but which is mostly cultivated on plantations and small farms in other parts of the world, principally the Far East and Africa. other more important kinds of rubber covered in this summary, used extensively only when they are supplied at a low price in relation to Hevea rubber or when a shortage of Hevea rubber develops, are from the guayule shrub (Parthenium argentatum), and the Castilloa (Castilla elastica), Ceara (Manihot sp.), mangabeira (Hancornia sp.) and Ficus trees. This summary does not cover gutta-percha, gutta balata, gutta siak, and jelutong or pontianak, which are sometimes regarded as varieties of natural rubber, but which are not suitable for the products which account for the bulk of the consumption of natural rubber; these materials are covered by separate summaries (see summary on crude gutta-percha, gutta siak, and gutta balata, and on crude jelutong or pontianak, under par. 1697). There are three sources of rubber hydrocarbon used in the United States to manufacture rubber products; these are natural, synthetic, and reclaimed rubbers. In 1948, imported natural rubber, which before the war represented about 85 percent of total domestic consumption of rubber, accounted for about 51 percent of total domestic consumption. Domestic synthetic rubber production, a minor factor in total United States rubber consumption before the war, was greatly expanded during World War II and in 1948 accounted for about 37 percent of the total domestic consumption of rubber. (See separate summary on synthetic rubber not in part of carbon, and miscellaneous synthetic rubber articles not in part of carbon, par. 1558.) Domestically produced reclaimed rubber made from scrap rubber articles supplements the supply of new rubber (natural and synthetic) consumed by the rubber manufacturing industry and generally, except for the war years, has represented about 12 to 15 percent (on the basis of estimated rubber hydrocarbon content) of the total rubber consumed in the United States. (See separate summary on reclaimed natural (india) rubber, par. 1697.) Natural rubber is traded in and identified by various names, generally based upon its method of preparation, or its geographical or botanical source. Hevea rubber is traded in both solid and liquid forms; the former is known as "crude rubber," and the latter as "latex." The term crude rubber means the coagulated milk of the rubber tree in its unvulcanized state prepared in some dry or semi-dry form suitable for storage or shipping. The more important forms are smoked-sheet, ball, and crepe rubber, and these are graded to denote quality. The term latex means the uncoagulated milk of the rubber tree usually with an anticoagulant such as ammonia added; it is prepared in several forms, the most important being "concentrated" and "normal" 2 latex. The system of pricing crude rubber is based on quotations for Hevea ribbed smoked-sheet No. 1, which grade in the past has constituted the bulk of the rubber traded. The price of natural rubber is quoted per pound, while production and trade are reported in long tons. 1 Concentrated latex has a dry-rubber content between 58 to 73 percent and is made by creaming, centrifuging, or evaporating the water content from the latex extracted from the tree. 2/ Normal latex has a dry-rubber content of about 38 to 40 percent and is usually the latex as originally extracted from the tree except for the addition of SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION CRUDE INDIA (NATURAL) RUBBER, INCLUDING GUAYULE (PAR. 1697) Natural rubber is one of the materials most essential to industrial development and modern life. Its principal use is for tires and tubes. Other important uses are for mechanical rubber goods essential to the efficient operation of many machines, and for footwear, waterproof sheetings, and rubber-covered wire and cables. Latex is chiefly used to make such products as cushions for automobile seats and furniture upholstery, mattresses, rubber thread, baby pants, gloves surgical rubber goods, and balloons and other toys. The use of latex to manufacture rubber products is expected to expand rapidly as world supplies increase. World sources Hevea rubber.-There are two general types of rubber production from Hevea trees: One, that referred to as "wild" rubber which is extracted from trees growing wild in areas to which they are indigenous; and, two, that referred to as "plantation" rubber which is extracted from trees in plantations or groves where they have been planted and grown under cultivation. Plantation rubber constitutes, by far, the most important portion of the world's supply of natural rubber; it probably accounts for over 98 percent of the total world production. It is estimated that the total world capacity for the production of plantation rubber is from about 1.8 to 2.1 million long tons annually. Plantation rubber production is carried on in two fairly distinct types of operations, "estates" and "smallholdings." The estates, usually large, are operated with substantial capital and employ labor forces receiving fixed daily wages. The bulk of the estates are owned by European, American, and Australian interests. The smallholdings are of two general types: (1) Very small plantations, usually not over five acres in size, which are owned and operated as native family enterprises; and (2) medium-size plantations, generally ranging from 15 to 100 acres in size, which are largely owned by natives or Asiatic proprietors and operated with some hired labor other than members of the family. As shown in table 2, about 95 percent of the world's total acreage of plantation rubber is located in Asia, principally in Malaya and Indonesia. Of the total 9,400,000 acres, about 4,900,000 are estates and 4,450,000 acres are smallholdings. In the countries which are the principal producers of natural rubber, this commodity accounts for a large proportion of their total exports. For example, in prewar years rubber accounted for about 50 percent of the total exports of Malaya, and about 25 percent of the exports of the Netherlands Indies. In 1947, rubber accounted for about 60 percent of the total exports of Malaya, and about 20 percent of the exports of the Netherlands Indies. It is estimated that the production of natural rubber furnishes employment to over 1 million people, most of them Asiatic. |