amounted to 29,000 tons valued at $1.7 million and equaled one-third of the imports in 1966. The steel sheets, although amounting to 15,000 tons valued at $1.9 million, accounted for a relatively small proportion of the imports. The remainder of the drawback on automobiles represented the return of duty on glass, copper, zinc, aluminum, lead, engines (in 1967) and other materials of lesser importance. With one or two exceptions both amount of duty returned and value of material on which it was assessed was much less in 1967 than in 1966. The amounts in the two years (in thousands of dollars) are shown by imported material as follows: The drawback on automobiles amounts to from $4 to $5 per car and is equivalent to less than one-fifth of 1 percent of the value. Trucks.--The articles exported with benefit of drawback consist of gasoline-powered trucks, in which imported steel, nonferrous metals and parts are used, and diesel trucks, some of which are equipped with imported engines and others with imported tires. The value of all trucks on which drawback was paid was $133 million, equal to 80 percent of the exports in 1965, and $98 million, equal to 45 percent of the exports in 1966, but it amounted to only $24 million, equal to 8 percent of the exports in 1967. The reduction in 1967 took place in the gasoline-powered trucks on which drawback was formerly taken at Detroit. Like that on other automotive products, the reduction is attributable to the backlog of claims arising during transfer of the authority from the customs office at Detroit to the regional headquarters at Chicago. The backlog is now in the process of liquidation. Diesel trucks were less affected by the foregoing circumstances. On most of those equipped with imported engines, the drawback was already taken at Chicago, and on those equipped with imported tires, the drawback was taken at New York and Cleveland. The drawback on exported trucks by kind is shown in the table on page 44. That on the gasoline-powered trucks in 1965 and 1966 amounted to about $115,000 a year and accounted for half of the total. It represented the return of duty on imported materials having an annual value of $1.4 million. The imported materials consisted chiefly of steel slabs and billets, of which about 15,000 tons à year valued at $900,000 were used. The duty on them refunded under drawback averaged $80,000 a year. The drawback on the diesel trucks in the period 1965-67 averaged $111,000 a year, representing the return of duty in about equal amount on imported tires and imported engines. On the gasoline-powered trucks the average drawback over the period was $2.70 apiece and on the diesels $93 apiece. Trucks exported under drawback: Exported articles, imported material, and drawback by year of payment 1965-67 : : Imported: Drawback : material : : 1.000 : 1,000 Kind and year Value 1/ : : dollars : dollars 1/ Estimated. Source: U.S. Bureau of Customs, except as noted. Motor vehicle stampings and assemblies. --Exports of motor vehicle stampings and parts and accessories for assembly abroad are larger (in terms of value) than exports of complete vehicles and they obtain much the larger part of the drawback. The exports, like those of complete vehicles, are destined predominantly to Canada and have increased under the agreement with Canada, beginning in 1965, for the duty-free treatment of most automobiles and automotive equipment, although the increase has not been as pronounced as in exports of the complete cars. The drawback on motor vehicle stampings and assemblies was $2.1 million in 1965, $2.0 million in 1966, and $1.4 million in 1967. It constituted the return of duty on imported materials valued at about $23 million a year in 1965 and 1966, and at $16 million in 1967. The reduction in 1967 is attributed to a delay arising in liquidation rather than to a reduction in claims, which increased with the increase in exports. Annual data for motor vehicle stampings and assemblies in 1965-67 are shown, in thousands of dollars, as follows: The imported materials on which duty was returned consisted almost entirely of steel, principally cold-rolled sheet, and ingots (other than alloy). They accounted for most of the imports (nearly all from Canada) of non-alloy steel ingots, and for one-fourth to one-third of the imports at Detroit (predominantly for the automobile industry) of cold rolled sheet in 1965-67, but for a small proportion of imports of other items. The drawback on motor vehicle stampings and assemblies in 1965-67 is shown by kind of imported material in the accompanying table. |