Page H.R. 3626—Continued American Hose & Hardware, College Park, Ga., Randy Prince, letter 154 (Identical letters were also received from the following: Atl Invest- Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Gerald L. Bartels, letter 176 Bainbridge, James D., Nissei Corp., letter 166 Bartels, Gerald L., Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, letter 176 Bartlett, Selma F., Henderson, Nev., letter 155 Brown, Joe W., Nevada Development Authority, letter 165 Bryan, Hon. Richard H., Governor, State of Nevada, letter 161 First Interstate Bank of Nevada, N.A., Kevin T. Day, letter 156 Henderson, Nev., City of, Hon. Lorna Kesterson, Mayor, letter 158 Henderson Development Association, Duane Laubach, letter 160 Kesterson, Hon. Lorna, Mayor, City of Henderson, Nev., letter 158 Laubach, Duane, Henderson Development Association, letter 160 Miller, Hon. Bob, Lieutenant Governor, State of Nevada, letter 163 Nevada, State of: Hon. Richard H. Bryan, Governor, letter 161 Hon. Bob Miller, Lieutenant Governor, letter 163 Nevada Development Authority, Joe W. Brown, letter 165 Nissei Corp., Henderson, Nev.: James D. Bainbridge, letter 166 Bonnie Tallman, et al., joint letter and attachments 169 Nissei Research Corp., Norcross, Ga., Dallas Addis, et al., joint letter 174 Phillips, Hon. R.T. (Tom), State Senator, Georgia General Assembly; and Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Gerald L. Bartels, similar letters 176 Prince, Randy, American Hose & Hardware, College Park, Ga., letter 154 Swindall, Hon. Patrick L., a Representative in Congress from the State of Georgia, letter 177 Tallman, Bonnie, et al., Nissei Corp., joint letter and attachments 169 Vucanovich, Hon. Barbara F., a Representative in Congress from the State of Nevada, letter 178 H.R. 3637: American Iron and Steel Institute, statement 179 H.R. 3645: Columbia Sportswear, Tim Boyle, statement 181 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRADE #12 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1987 COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THE HONORABLE SAM M. GIBBONS (D., FLA.), CHAIRMAN, WRITTEN COMMENTS ON CERTAIN TARIFF AND TRADE BILLS The Honorable Sam M. Gibbons (D., Fla.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, today announced that the Subcommittee on Trade is requesting written testimony for the record from all interested parties on the miscellaneous tariff and trade bills listed below. A determination regarding further scheduling of public hearings or other Subcommittee action on any of these bills will not be made until after the close of this public comment period. The tariff and trade bills on which written testimony will be received are: Duty Suspension Bills H.R. 2544 (Mr. DloGuardi): To suspend the duty on cultured pearls until January 1, 1991. H.R. 2755 (Mr. Mollohan): To suspend for a temporary period the duty on certain nitrogenous compounds. H.R. 2766 (Mr. Carper)i To suspend for a 5-year period the duty on pyromellltic dianhydride (PMDA). H.R. 2917 (Mr. Carper): To suspend for a 5-year period the duty on Bendlocarb. H.R. 2947 (Mr. Brown of Coloraro): To suspend for a 3-year period the duty on carfentanil citrate. H.R. 2981 (Mr. Guarini): For the relief of Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. H.R. 3139 (Mr. Crane): To extend for 3 years the existing suspension of duty on certain brussels sprouts. H.R. 3271 (Mr. Rose): To suspend for a 3-year period the duty on thiothiamine hydrochloride. H.R. 3306 (Miss Schneider): To extend the temporary suspension of duty on a certain chemical. H.R. 3426 (Mr. dinger): To temporarily suspend the duty on H.R. 3447 (Ms. Kaptur): To suspend for a 2-year period the duty on positive displacement reciprocating machines, parts for machines of that kind, and other related articles. H.R. 3475 (Mr. Inhofelt; To su^psndAinttl January 1, 1991, the duty on acetophendhe. Classification Bills H.R. 25l2 (Mr. Swift): Relating to the tariff treatment of loganberries and raspberries. H.R. 2604 (Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Bonker, and Mr. Seal): To amend the Tariff Schedules of the United States to clarify the definition of hardboard, and for other purposes. H.R. 2757 (Mr. SchulzeJi Relating to the tariff treatment of portable marine stoves. H.R. 32ll (Mr. LaFalce): To amend the Tariff Schedules of the United States by repealing item 807.00 relating to certain articles assembled from abroad from fabricated components which are products of the United States. Customs and Other Nontarlff Matters Bill H.R. 3059 (Mr. Archer)i To extend the filing period for reliquldation of certain imports. DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS: Persons submitting written comments should submit six (6) copies by the close of business, Priday, December 4, 1987, to Robert J. Leonard, Chief Counsel, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, Room 1l02 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 205l5. SEE FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS BELOW: COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS FOR PRINTING OF HEARING STATEMENTS. WRITTEN COMMENTS AND EXHIBITS Each statement presented for printing to the CommittM by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for tha printed record or any written comments In response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will net be printed, but will be maintained In the Committee files for review and use by the Committee. 1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed In single space on legai-sue paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages. 2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing, instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee. 3. Statements must contain the name and capacity in which the witness will appear or, for written comments, the name and capacity of the person submitting the statement, as well as any clients or persons, or any organization for whom the witness appears or for whom the statement is submitted. 4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations In the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record. The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and public during the course of a public hearing. may be submitted in other forms. H.R. 2512 Relating to the tariff treatment of loganberries and raspberries. H.R. 2544 STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF AND The proposed legislation would affect the Customs This duty suspension was requested by the Manufacturing Jewelers and Silversmiths of America and the Cultured Pearl Association whose members account for over 75 percent of the imports of cultured pearls. In 1986 the foreign value of imported cultured pearls was $191 million dollars. The four major supplying countries accounting for 94 percent of the total in 1986 were Japan at $160.9 million; Hong Kong at $11.1 million; China at $4.2 million and Australia at $3.3 million. Japan's share of the total has declined from a high of 91.5 percent in 1983 to 84.5 percent in 1986. Further imports of cultured pearls from Japan, which were valued at $214 million in 1984 declined to $161 million in 1986 and are estimated at $125 million in 1987, primarily in response to the appreciation of the yen in relation to the dollar. While suspending the duty on cultured pearls will not totally compensate for the drop in the value of the dollar, suspension would clearly be an ameliorating factor for this industry. Certainly the duty suspension would assist the cultured pearl segment of the U.S. jewelry industry to be more competitive. Duty-free imports from GSP eligible countries amounted to $6.1 million or 3.2 percent of the total in 1986. The U.S. International Trade Commission in Summaries of Trade and Tariff information reported. Natural and cultured pearls, which are provided for under items .741.05 and 741.06, respectively, are formed by a physiological reaction occurring when an irritating foreign substance becomes imbedded in the tissues of an oyster or other mollusk. This foreign body is coated with many layers of nacreous material emitted by the oyster and in time becomes a pearl. The only difference between natural and cultured pearls is that the nucleus of a cultured pearl becomes imbedded as an accident of nature. There are many types of mollusks which emit nacre, but only the pearl oyster, the white and blacklip oysters, and a few other species form pearls valued for use in jewelry. In 1893, a process for artificially "seeding" oysters was developed in Japan. A period of 2 to 3 years is allowed for development of the cultured or cultivated pearl to a marketable size (about 3mm in |