SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION CRUDE INDIA (NATURAL) RUBBER, INCLUDING GUAYULE United States trade agreements (PAR. 1697) In the Geneva agreement the duty-free status of natural rubber was bound; and the duty on synthetic rubber, not in part of carbon, dutiable under tariff paragraph 1558, was reduced from 20 to 10 percent ad valorem. In the Geneva agreement the United States made tariff concessions (reductions of duty or bindings) on a number of articles composed wholly or in part of natural (india) rubber, provided for in tariff paragraphs 316(a), 320, 369(c), 370, 913(a), 923, 1537(b), and 1604 of the tariff act. However, in a note on page 41 of schedule XX of that agreement, the United States reserved the right to withdraw these concessions if it considers such action necessary in connection with measures to encourage the production or use of synthetic rubber in this country. Article III of the Geneva agreement (as well as Article 18 of the proposed Charter for an International Trade Organization) contains a general prohibition against the use of mixing and similar regulations which require a specified proportion of the mixture to be of domestic origin. However, under an exception provision (of general application), the United States specification plan on rubber products referred to heretoforé in this summary, can be continued under the Geneva agreement (and the proposed Charter for an International Trade Organization) but is not to be modified to the detriment of imports and the United States must be willing to negotiate for the possible relaxation of the plan, In section C of schedule XIX of the Geneva agreement the United Kingdom agreed to the reduction of certain British-Empire tariff preferences, but reserved the right to make these concessions inoperative during the whole of any calendar year which immediately follows a calendar year in which the quantity of generalpurpose synthetic rubber required to be consumed in the United States pursuant to our mixing regulations exceeds 25 percent of the total consumption in the United States of natural, synthetic, and reclaimed rubber. This entire section of schedule XIX has, however, been made inoperative pending renegotiation (see Department of State Press Release No. 261, March 31, 1948). United States reexports United States reexports of natural rubber are reported in a single statistical classification covering all crude forms of solid and liquid rubber, including Hevea, guayule, and other kinds of natural rubber; unit values, therefore, vary widely. Before the war, reexports of natural rubber averaged about 10,000 tons annually or about 2 percent of total domestic imports for consumption. As shown in table 9, the principal prewar markets were Canada and Mexico (representing more than one-half of total reexports), and substantial quantities went to Italy and Germany. The unusually large reexports in 1939, amounting to about 13,000 long tons, were mainly due to the 5,000 long tons shipped to the Soviet Union. Reexports during the war were the result of allocations by the Combined Raw Materials Board and connected with the war effort. In the postwar years reexports have averaged about 6,000 long tons annually. The principal postwar markets are Canada, Mexico and some Latin-American countries, notably Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Peru and Chile. UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION CRUDE INDIA (NATURAL) RUBBER, INCLUDING GUAYULE United States Table 9.- Natural rubber, including latex and guayule: some reexports to 1/ Preliminary. 2/ Not shown separately in statistics reported in that year; the country footnoted may be included in quantities and values reported for "all other" countries in that year. 3/ Less than one-half long ton. Includes Aegean Islands before 1945. 5/ Includes Austria in 1939 and 1943. Includes 496 long tons, valued at 245 thousand dollars, to Venezuela. SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION CRUDE JELUTONG OR PONTIANAK Tariff Status Par. 1697. Crude jelutong or pontianak, which was free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, is free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. The dutyfree status of crude jelutong or pontianak was bound in the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, effective January 1939, and similarly bound in the agreement with Peru, effective July 1942, and in the Geneva agreement. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Crude jelutong or pontianak: United States imports for Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note. There is no United States production or exports of jelutong or pontianak. UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION CRUDE JELUTONG OR PONTIANAK Comment Jelutong (pontianak) is the coagulated latex of either of two species of the Dyera tree, D. Costulata and D. Lovii; the former species is found in Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula, and the latter chiefly in Borneo and Sumatra. The word "jelutong" is derived from the native name of the tree from which this commodity comes, and the word "pontianak" is the name of the district in Dutch Borneo from which a large part of the world production is shipped. The production of jelutong, except for a few experimental plantings, is all from wild forest trees. In order to prevent the destruction of these trees, the method of extracting the latex is regulated in almost all the producing areas. There is no United States production of jelutong, nor does it compete with any domestic product. United States imports of jelutong, like chicle, are almost wholly used in the manufacture of chewing gum (see separate summary on crude chicle under par. 1686). By far the greater part of the world's production of jelutong originates in the Netherlands Indies, with Borneo and Sumatra the chief production centers. The remainder comes from British Malaya. A large part of the Netherlands Indies' output is exported to Singapore where it is refined which eliminates much of the moisture, waste and resins. Before the war the United States consumed over 90 percent of the world's supply of jelutong. In 1935-39 United States imports averaged about 15.5 million pounds, valued at 1.8 million dollars a year. During the war imports dropped sharply and were negligible in 1943. In postwar years, they have increased and in 1948 amounted to 7.6 million pounds valued at 2.4 million dollars (see table 1). British Malaya and the Netherlands Indies are the only sources of United States imports of jelutong. Most of the British Malayan jelutong originates in the Netherlands Indies. In general, jelutong from British Malaya, having been refined in Singapore, is a higher-grade product and sells at about twice the price of that imported direct from the Netherlands Indies. The average unit foreign value of total jelutong imports increased from 11 cents in 1939, to 31 cents per pound in 1948. This increase is attributable to increased prices and to the fact that a greater proportion of the imports in 1948 consisted of the higher quality jelutong from British Malaya. SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION RECLAIMED INDIA (NATURAL) RUBBER Tariff Status Par. 1697. Reclaimed natural (india) rubber, which was free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, is free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930 as india rubber, crude. The duty-free status of crude natural (india) rubber, which includes reclaimed natural rubber, was bound in the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, effective January 1939, and in the trade agreement with Peru, and in the Geneva agreement. The tariff status of reclaimed synthetic rubber has not been determined, and as far as known imports of reclaimed synthetic rubber have been nil. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Reclaimed natural rubber: United States production, exports, includes Represents only reclaimed natural rubber for the years 1935 to 1939; substantial amounts of reclaimed synthetic rubber (probably 50 percent of the figures shown) for 1943 to 1948 (see text). 2/ All from Canada, except 1 ton from Brazil, in 1948. Less than one-half long ton. 2/ Estimated. 5/ Includes exports under lend-lease of 2,955 long tons, valued at 420 thousand dollars to the United Kingdom; 1,896 tons, valued at 324 thousand dollars, to India; 1,026 long tons, valued at 140 thousand dollars, to the Union of South Africa; and 478 long tons, valued at 70 thousand dollars, to Australia. 6/ Preliminary. Less than $500. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce, except as noted. |