SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION IRON ORE, INCLUDING MANGANIFEROUS IRON ORE CONTAINING NOT (PAR. 1700) Tariff Status Par. 1700. Iron ore, including manganiferous iron ore containing not more than 10 percent of metallic manganese, and the dross or residuum from burnt pyrites, both of which were free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, are free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. The duty-free status of iron ore was bound in the Geneva Agreement 1/, and in the Annecy agreement, which binding was not made effective on January 1, 1950. Free status of ore containing iron oxide or iron hydroxide, and suitable for the manufacture of pigments, was previously bound in the trade agreement with Iran, effective June 1944. Such material is not used for smelting. UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION IRON ORE, INCLUDING MANGANIFEROUE IRON ORE CONTAINING NOT (PAR. 1700) Trade Statistics Table 1.- Iron ore, including manganiferous iron ore containing not more 1/ Preliminary. 3/ In part estimated. 3.0 3.1 5.3 5.4 2/ Average iron content is about 50 percent (natural basis). Almost entirely to Canada. 5 Less than 500 long tons. 6/ Not available. 7/Less than $500. Source: Production, U. S. Bureau of Mines, except as noted; exports and imports, SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION IRON ORE, INCLUDING MANGANIFEROUS IRON ORE CONTAINING NOT (PAR. 1700) Comment This summary covers iron ore, manganiferous iron ore containing not more than 10 percent of manganese, and dross or residuum from burnt pyrites. Iron ore with a manganese content of 10 to 35 percent (ferruginous manganese ore) is covered in a separate summary.1/ The iron ores most commonly mined are the oxides known as hematite, magnetite, and limonite (brown ore). Commercial iron ore contains from 25 to 70 percent of iron; the United States deposits being worked commercially average about 50 percent. Manganiferous iron ores are iron ores that contain up to 10 percent of metallic manganese and which are smelted directly to a manganese pig iron containing 1 to 4 percent manganese. A source of iron other than ore is the residue of pyrite burners, which is a ferric oxide containing extremely low percentages of sulphur and phosphorus. Iron ore is the raw material for pig iron and steel; over 99 percent of the iron ore consumed in the United States is so used. Most of the remainder is used as a flux to facilitate the smelting of other metals and in making paint and cement. During most years in the past the United States has been the world's largest producer of iron ore, including manganiferous iron ore. By far the largest part of the domestic deposits are owned and operated by a few large companies which are either partly or wholly owned by the large iron and steel producers or otherwise closely affiliated with them. About 85 percent of the iron ore shipped each season goes directly from the mines to the large steel producers. Most of the remainder is sold under long term contracts to these producers and usually only small quantities are sold in the open market. From 80 to 85 percent of the iron ore mined in the United States comes from the Lake Superior region (Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin), where about 77 percent of the output is mined by the relatively inexpensive open-pit method. Highly efficient transportation to, on, and from the Great Lakes makes possible low charges for carrying this ore to the principal steel-producing centers of the East North Central region. The Southeastern District (mostly Alabama) is next in importance, usually accounting for between 7 and 12 percent of the total, followed by the Northeastern District (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). Production in Western and Southwestern States, though still a small part of national output, has been steadily increasing as a result of the expansion of the iron and steel industry in those areas. United States production of iron ore averaged about 51 million long tons a year during 1937-39 (see table 1). In response to the large wartime demand output rose sharply after 1939 and reached a peak of nearly 107 million tons in 1942. Production declined during subsequent years and amounted to 72 million tons in 1946, but increased again in 1947 when it exceeded 94 million tons. On the basis of the first 8 months of 1948, output for the entire year is expected to be somewhat larger than in 1947. Iron ore mining and beneficiating in 1946 gave employment to about 27,100 workers. See summary on manganese ore, ferruginous, paragraph 302 (a). 162 IRON ORE, INCLUDING MANGANIFEROUS IRON ORE CONTAINING NOT (PAR. 1700) United States imports of iron ore have always been small compared with domestic production. They averaged about 2.3 million long tons a year during 1937-39, or less than 5 percent of domestic requirements. As a result of a shipping shortage and war hazards, imports declined during the war and amounted to about 400,000 tons in 1943. They increased in quantity in recent years, but the much larger increase in the value of postwar imports compared with 1939 is due largely to higher declared unit values of the foreign ores. The average iron content of the imported ores is generally about 59 percent. Before the war imports came largely from Chile and Cuba where important deposits are controlled by American steel interests. During the war Canada was the principal source and that country, Chile, and Sweden have been chief suppliers in postwar years. Foreign iron ore is consumed largely in plants along the Atlantic seaboard-the largest being in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland. Ordinarily 2 to 3 percent of the United States output of iron ore is exported. In the period 1937-39 exports averaged about 1 million long tons a year (see table 1). They more than doubled during the war, amounting to 2.4 million tons in 1943. In postwar years they have remained at a higher level than before the war and totaled 2.8 million tons in 1947. Exports have gone almost entirely to Canada. According to recent official and trade estimates, United States iron ore reserves comparable in grade and accessibility with those being mined today are limited to a supply of from 15 to 40 years at the present rate of consumption. However, reserves of lower grade iron-bearing materials are sufficient for several hundred years' supply provided problems of extraction and beneficiation can be solved economically. These problems have already been solved to some extent and it is expected that concentrates produced from lower grade ores will constitute an increasing proportion of the total domestic output in future years. It is also expected that domestic production will be supplemented in the future as in the past, by imports of high grade ores. Imports from Sweden, which were much larger in 1947 and 1948 than in prewar years, are likely to decline as a larger proportion of Swedish ore is diverted to European markets. Cuba has declined in importance as a source of imports and probably will not regain its prewar position in this respect. Imports from Chile were at a high rate in 1947 and 1948 and may increase further. Imports from Algeria have been sizeable but irregular; it is expected that they will be of minor significance following more complete rehabilitation of the European iron and steel industry. Some imports are expected beginning in 1950 from new developments in Venezuela, and the recently discovered iron ore deposits in the Quebec-Labrador field may also become a source of imports although it is anticipated that several years will be required to develop this field. Some imports have been received in the past from the Itabira operation in Brazil and shipments from this source may be increased. Another possible source of future imports is the Amato section of Brazil where a subsidiary of an American firm plans the exploration and development of a known ore body. Although it is probable that the total volume of iron ore imports in the future will be larger than in the past, it is impossible to estimate with reasonable accuracy the size of such imports, since that will be determined by many factors which cannot be fully appraised at present. One of the most important of these factors will be the progress the domestic industry makes in solving technical and economic problems involved in the mining and beneficiation of low-grade domestic ores. SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION IVORY, UNMANUFACTURED Tariff Status Par. 1701. Ivory tusks in their natural state or cut vertically across the grain only, with the bark left intact, which were free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, are free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. Their duty-free status was bound in the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, effective January 1939, and in the Geneva agreement. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Ivory, unmanufactured: United States imports 1/ Preliminary. 6,457 154,674 144,030 110,476 2/ Data for 1937-39 are for British East Africa including British Somaliland, Seychelles and Dependencies, and Mauritius and Dependencies. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note. There is no United States production of ivory tusks and there are no domestic exports. |