UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION COPAL (PAR. 1686) Comment Copal is the generic term for a group of natural resins used chiefly in the manufacture of varnishes. It is also used in the manufacture of linoleum, paper sizing, and a variety of other products, such as adhesives and cements, amber substitutes, paint driers, inks, and lacquers. Copals are produced as exudations from various trees. There are three principal tyres of copal: congo copal, the manilas, and kauri. Kauri is discussed in a separate summary under paragraph 1686 and is not included here. Congo copal, or congo, is the most important type of coral and accounts for more than one-half the total world output of all copals. Virtually all of this resin is obtained from the Belgian Congo, where it is collected chiefly as a fossil resin of the tree, Copaifera demeusi. Small amounts of congo resin are also obtained from trees of related species, and in other sections of Africa, and some is obtained as a result of accidental or deliberate wounding of living trees rather than as a fossil resin. The manilas are obtained chiefly from islands of the East Indian archipelago, although some of this material is obtained from the Philippine Islands. These resins are produced by conifers of the genus Agathis. Manilas produced chiefly by the species A. alba are designated as Macassar, Singapore, or Philippine manila according to the point where they enter commerce. Macassar manila is further classified according to the age of the resin as melengket (soft), loba (half-hard), and boea (hard) resin, the resin becoming harder with age. Manila resin which is the product of the species A. Borneensis, and which originates in Borneo, is designated as pontianak. With the exception of boea, which is a fossil resin, and pontianak, which is a semi-fossil copal, the manilas are obtained by deliberate tapping or accidental wounding of living trees. Copal is not produced in the United States and domestic requirements are supplied entirely by imports. It scarcely competes with any natural product of the United States, but there is some competition between copal and certain synthetic resins. Imports into the United States of copal are combined in statistics with those of East India resin and accroides (yacca) gum, which are not copal. 1 However, the quantities of East India resin and Accroides imported are known to be relatively small. Total imports, as reported, averaged about 20 million pounds a year, valued at about 1 million dollars, during 1937-39. Imports declined sharply during the war, when the United States was cut off from important sources of supply, and in 1943 amounted to 8 million pounds, valued at $600,000. Postwar imports have been substantially below the prewar level in volume, largely because of the failure to fully revive the industry in the Netherlands Indies, but have been greater in value. During 1946-48 imports averaged about 12 million pounds a year, valued at about 1.5 million dollars. The increase in the total value of imports during 1946-48 compared with prewar years is accounted for by the increase in the average unit foreign value from 4.8 cents a pound in 1939 to 13.8 cents a pound in 1948. Before the war the bulk of the imports consisted of manilas from the Netherlands Indies, the Philippine Republic and British Malaya. Nearly all of the remainder was congo copal from the Belgian Congo transshipped through Belgium, where he resin was cleaned and graded. During the war imports consisted almost entirely of congo copal shipped directly from the Belgian Congo. Although substantial quantities are again being regularly received from the Netherlands Indies and the Philippine Republic, the Belgian Congo has continued to be the principal supplier in postwar years, and imports from that country have been substantially higher than imports from the same source in prewar years. 1 For East India resin and accroides (yacca) gum, see summary on varnish resins (except damar, kauri, copal, dragon's blood, sandarac, and mastic), par. 1686. SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION DAMAR Tariff Status Par. 1686. Damar, 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 trade agreement with the United Kingdom, effective Jamiary 1939 and later in the Geneva agreement. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Damar: United States imports for consumption, by principal 1 In 1940 there were imports amounting to 19,110,593 pounds valued at $1,098,785; in 1941, 29,995,839 pounds valued at $2,124,208; and in 1942, imports amounted to 5,429,619 pounds valued at $548,197. There were no imports in the years 1943-45. 2/ Preliminary. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note.- Damar is not produced in the United States and there are no domestic exports. UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION DAMAR Comment Damar is a natural resin obtained by tapping trees of the Dipterocarpaceae family, chiefly those of the species, Hopea and Shorea. It is used as an ingredient in the manufacture of varnishes, enamels, and lacquers. This summary does not cover East India resins which are partially fossilized damars; these are covered in a separate summary on varnish resins (except damar, kauri, copal, dragon's blood, sandarac, and mastic), par. 1686. Damar is not produced in the United States, nor are there any natural resins directly competitive with it produced in this country. Damar-producing trees are indigenous to the Malay Peninsula and to the western islands of the Netherlands Indies, but all, or nearly all, of the world's commercial supply of damar originates in Sumatra and Borneo. The resin is designated by its point of entrance into international commerce, rather than by its geographical origin. The principal points of export are Batavia, on the island of Java; Padang, on the island of Sumatra; and Singapore. The collection and marketing of damar is a well-organized industry operating under the rigid supervision of the Netherlands Government. United States imports of damar averaged about 15 million pounds annually, valued at about $900,000, during the period 1937-39 (see table); about 60 percent of these imports were from Singapore in British Malaya and most of the remainder were from the Netherlands East Indies. No damar was imported during the years 1943-45. Although the value of imports in 1947 was greater than the 1937-39 average, annual imports of damar since the end of the war have averaged less in both quantity and value than during the prewar period. They amounted to 2 million pounds, valued at $390,000, in 1946; 9 million pounds, valued at $1,195,000, in 1947; and to 5 million pounds, valued at $519,000, in 1948. lower level of postwar imports is due in part to lower production in the Netherlands Indies where political conditions have been unstable. The average unit foreign value of imports was about 6 cents per pound in 1937-39, 19 cents per pound in 1946, and 9.6 cents per pound in 1948. The SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION DRAGON'S BLOOD Tariff Status Par. 1686. Dragon's blood, which was free of duty under the Tariff Aot of 1922 is free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. Its duty-free status was bound in the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, effective January 1939; and similar binding was thereafter included in the Geneva agreement. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Dragon's blood: United States imports for consumption 1/Preliminary. 2/ All from the Netherlands Indies. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note. There is no United States production or export of dragon's blood. Comment The Various red-colored natural resins are marketed as dragon's blood. resin to which the name was originally applied, however, is obtained from trees of the Dracaena species of the Lily family which grow in Asia Minor and eastern Africa. At present, the chief source of dragon's blood is the Malayan peninsula and the East Indian archipelago where it is obtained from rattan palms of the species Daemonorops. The resin is secreted mainly in the fruit of the tree, from which it exudes. The principal uses of dragon's blood are by the engraving and lithographic trade, as an ingredient of mahogany varnishes and gold lacquers, for staining marble, in dentifrices, and in incense. Dragon's blood is not produced in the United States and scarcely competes with any domestic product. There are no domestic exports. United States requirements of dragon's blood are supplied chiefly by imports from British Malaya, but a substantial part of the resin imported from that country is probably of Netherlands Indies' origin. During the period 1937-39, annual imports averaged about 42,000 pounds, valued at $16,000 (see table). There were no imports in 1943-46, and imports in 1947 were small. In 1948, imports totaled 25,000 pounds, valued at $31,000. The average unit foreign value of imports of dragon's blood has increased from 38 cents per pound in 1939 to $1.23 per pound in 1948. * UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION KADAYA (KARAYA) AND TALKA Tariff Status Par. 1686. Kadaya and talka, 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 talka was bound in the trade agreement with Iran, effective June 1944. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Kadaya (karaya) and talka: United States imports for consumption, by principal sources, in specified years, 1937 to 1948 were reported separately for the first time in 1948, amounted in that year to 45 thousand pounds, valued at 10 thousand dollars, with a unit value of 23.3 cents per pound. 3/ Includes Austria, 1938-43. Data for 1937-39 are for Egypt, including Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note.- Karaya and talka are not produced in the United States and there are no |