$1,000.

M. Q.

$1,000.

169

$1,000

Copper wire, in coils; rolled:

$1,000.

All countries.

M. Q
$1,000.

France.

M. Q.

148

138

145

143

193

$1,000.

202

191

219

146

165

Germany.

M. Q.

106

88

83

82

80

Phonographs, cinematographs, sound disks, etc., for talking machines

M. Q.

163

82

94

363

1,551

$1,000.

217

104

107

254

1,787

$1,000.

28

UNITED STATES-SWISS NEGOTIATORS OF TRADE AGREEMENT OF 1936

The trade agreement between the United States and Switzerland was negotiated in Washington in 1935. The United States negotiators, with their official designations as of that time, were:

Mr. Henry F. Grady, Chief of the Division of Trade Agreements, Department of State.

Mr. Harry C. Hawkins, Assistant Chief, Division of Trade Agreements, Department of State.

Mr. Paul T. Culbertson, Division of Western European Affairs, Department of State.

Mr. David Williamson, Division of Western European Affairs, Department of State.

Mr. Howard Barker, United States Tariff Commission.

Mr. Joseph M. Jones, United States Tariff Commission.

Mr. Leigh Hunt, United States Department of Commerce.

Mr. R. B. Schwenger, United States Department of Agriculture.

The negotiators for the Swiss Government were:

Mr. Walter Stucki, Director of the Commercial Division, Department of Economic Policy.

Mr. Marc Peter, Minister of Switzerland.

Mr. Louis H. Micheli, Counselor of Swiss Legation.

Mr. Victor Nef, Swiss Consul General at New York City, N. Y.

Mr. Albert Amez-Droz, at that time secretary-general of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce for the Watch Industry, was in Washington as a technical adviser to the Swiss negotiators. His principal activity was concerned with discussions of the technical aspects of the smuggling problem. This problem was dealt with in a separate declaration by the Swiss Government, made public simultaneously with the publication of the trade agreement. Under this declaration, the Swiss Government set up an export-control system which went into effect on May 1, 1936.

Senator MILLIKIN. Mr. Chairman, in addition to the State Department witnesses, when we resume with Mr. Thorp, we will also probably want Chairman Ryder and maybe one or two members of the Tariff Commission to appear.

The CHAIRMAN. We can decide on that tomorrow, Senator.

Did you wish to furnish the State Department with a copy of these questions?

Senator MILLIKIN. I have given them a copy.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you wish a copy in the record?

Senator MILLIKIN. No.

The CHAIRMAN. You can see what response can be made to that inquiry by 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, or later, if you cannot get to it before that time.

I offer for the record a summary prepared at my request of the record of imports and domestic production of hand-made table, kitchen, and art glassware.

(The summary referred to is as follows:)

HAND-MADE TABLE, KITCHEN, AND ART GLASSWARE (PAR. 218 (F))

Imports of hand-made table, kitchen, and art glassware in 1948 showed a marked decline from the 1947 figure, despite tariff concessions which became effective in January and April 1948. As indicated in the table below, the decrease amounted to about $1,000,000, a drop of 30 percent compared to 1947. Preliminary estimates of domestic production indicate that it has remained high, equaling the 1947 record. Domestic production in 1947 and 1948 was double the peak prewar (1937) figure, whereas imports were only slightly higher in 1947 than in 1937, and in 1948 were considerably lower. The ratio of imports to production has thus declined greatly since the war (from 15.4 percent in 1937 to 5.5

percent in 1948). Early in 1948 it was reported that foreign prices had risen 200 to 300 percent since 1941, compared with domestic price increases of about 85 to 90 percent.

Clearly, the demand for luxury and utilitarian products like glassware, purchases of which were deferred during the war, is stimulated by high income. Both imports and domestic production of these articles are determined by the conditions of the domestic market which in turn depend upon the size of the national income. Domestic production and imports of glassware fell at about the same rate during the last half of 1938 compared with 1937. The conditions which made a poor market for domestic products also made a poor market for imports. Similarly, a good market for domestic products can at the same time be a good market for imports.

It was stated in the hearings before the Ways and Means Committee that in the past several weeks a number of plants in West Virginia were either closed or running part time. The inactivity was attributed to imports. If this inactivity is not actually attributable to domestic factors, such as seasonal lay-offs, but is believed to be caused by imports resulting from trade-agreement concessions, there is nothing to prevent the affected firms from applying to the Tariff Commission for an investigation under the escape clause of the general agreement on tariffs and trade.

The concessions on handmade glassware in the Geneva agreement, as with all concessions, were based on painstaking study and preparation by the executive agencies participating in the trade-agreements program. All interested parties were given a full opportunity to state their views at public hearings. The moderate reductions in duty on these articles were accorded only after careful consideration and were designed to promote a healthy international trade without causing or threatening serious injury to a domestic industry. The escape clause has been inserted in all recent agreements and in Executive Order No. 10004 specifically for the purpose of protecting American industry from unforeseen injury. It is not mere ornamentation but a concrete provision with established machinery for its enforcement. It is available to any firm who wishes to use it. The CHAIRMAN. Is there anything further? If not, the committee will recess until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

(Whereupon, at 5:50 p. m., the committee recessed to reconvene tomorrow at 10 a. m. Tuesday, February 22, 1949.)

86697-49-pt. 1 -35