5/ Less than 500. Includes 221 thousand pounds, valued at 83 thousand dollars, to Norway. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. * SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION SHELLAC, UNBLEACHED Tariff Status Par. 1707. Unbleached shellac, which was free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, is free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. Its duty-free status was bound in the Geneva agreement, effective July 9, 1948. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Shellac, unbleached: United States imports for consumption (total and by principal sources), in specified years, 1937 to 1948 from Pakistan in 1948, the first year for which separate statistics for that country were reported. 2/ Includes Austria, 1938-43. 3/ Preliminary. Includes 128 thousand pounds valued at 61 thousand dollars from Italy. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note. There is no known domestic production of unbleached shellac. Exports are classified as shellac (bleached and unbleached), but are believed to consist entirely of bleached shellac. UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION SHELLAC, UNBLEACHED Comment Shellac, whether unbleached or bleached, is a refined form of lac (see separate summary on Lac: crude, seed, button, or stick, duty free under par. 1707).1 This summary covers only unbleached shellac; bleached or "white" shellac which has been further refined in order to improve its color (also duty-free) is covered by a separate summary under paragraph 1707. Unbleached shellac is a product made, generally by the natives in India, by stretching a heat-softened purified lac into a thin sheet and breaking the sheet into leaves or flakes. When not further refined by bleaching, it is used principally in the manufacture of phonograph records, sealing wax, and lithographic inks, by the electrical industry as a moulding material and insulator, and in the manufacture of spirit varnishes. Unbleached shellac is not manufactured in the United States and domestic requirements are supplied entirely by imports. Nearly all imports have come from India; minor quantities have come from Germany and (since World War II) Siam. Imports ranged from 12 million pounds, valued at 1.1 million dollars, to about 28 million pounds, valued at 2.2 million dollars, annually in the 1937-39 period. During the war imports fluctuated widely, ranging from 13.7 million pounds, valued at about 4 million dollars, in 1943 to 38 million pounds, valued at 5.2 million dollars, in 1941. In the postwar years 1946-48 the range of annual imports was from about 20 million pounds, valued at 9.8 million dollars, to 27.1 million pounds, valued at 11.4 million dollars (see table 1). The average annual unit foreign value, which in the 1937-39 period ranged from 8 to 11 cents per pound, increased greatly during and after the war and was 49 cents per pound in 1948. The United States is generally the most important market for shellac from India, taking over half of the total exports. The United Kingdom is also one of the principal markets and considerable quantities are shipped from India to other north European countries and to Japan. United States foreign trade statistics show exports of bleached and unbleached shellac combined, but it is believed that the exports reported consist entirely of bleached shellac. 1 Shellac is the most common form in which lac appears in commerce and the SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION LAVA, UNMANUFACTURED, NOT SUITABLE FOR MONUMENTAL OR BUILDING STONE Tariff Status Par. 1708. Lava, unmanufactured, which was free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, is free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Lava, unmanufactured, not suitable for monumental or Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note.- Statistics on United States production and exports of lava, unmanufactured, are not available. It is known, however, that production amounts to several million tons, but that exports are negligible. |