REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT U.S. Tariff Commission, To the President: This report is made pursuant to section 351(d)(1), of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (76 Stat. 900), which provides that- So long as any increase in, or imposition of, any Introduction Pursuant to various concessions granted in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the United States reduced the rates of duty applicable to sheet glass in 1948, 1951, and 1956-58.1/ Following a Tariff Commission investigation under the escape-clause procedure of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951, the President modified the concessions on such glass by increasing the rates of duty effective at the close of business June 17, 1962. On January 11, 1967, the President, pursuant to the provisions of section 351(c)(1)(A) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, terminated some of the increases in the rates that had been imposed under the escape-clause procedure and reduced others. In effect, he retained the escape-clause rates on 1/ Since 1951, concession rates have not applied to imports from countries or areas designated by the President as Communist controlled. most window glass, but reimposed the lower trade-agreement rates on thin and heavy sheet glass (see definitions on the following page). The modified escape-action rates were scheduled to terminate at the close of October 11, 1967, unless extended by the Following a report by the Tariff Commission on President. September 8, 1967, the President extended, until the close of December 31, 1969, all rates of duty on sheet glass that were higher than the trade-agreement rates. Following a report by the 2/ Tariff Commission on December 1, 1969, the President, pursuant to provisions of section 351(d)(3) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, continued the modified escape-action rates of duty applicable to window glass until March 31, 1970. After receiveng the Commission's report of December 29, 1969, under section 301(b)(1) of the act, in which three Commissioners found that imports of sheet glass were causing serious injury to the domestic industry and three 3/ Commissioners took the opposite view, the President, on February 27, 1970, extended the existing escape-clause protection for window glass until January 31, 1972; thereafter, these rates are scheduled to be reduced to the trade-agreement rates in three equal annual steps. 1/ Sheet Glass (Blown or Drawn Flat Glass): Report to the President on Investigation No. TEA-I-EX-4 Under Section 351(a)(3) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, TC Publication 215, 1967 (processed). 2/ Sheet Glass (Blown or Drawn Flat Glass): Report to the President on Investigation No. TEA-I-EX-6 Under Section 351(d)(3) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, TC Publication 306, 1969. 3/ Flat Glass and Tempered Glass: Report to the President on Investigation No. TEA-1-15 Under Section 301(b)(1) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, TC Publication 310, 1969. 3 For the purpose of this report, sheet glass is discussed under three general categories, on a weight basis--thin sheet glass (not over 16 ounces per square foot), window glass (over 16 but not over 28 ounces per square foot), and heavy sheet glass (over 28 ounces per square foot). The rates of duty applicable to these types of glass, under the actions outlined above, are shown by detailed specifications in table 1, and their average ad valorem equivalents (as applied to imports entitled to most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment) are shown for recent years in table 2. Window glass measuring 100 united inches (length plus width) or less is currently dutiable at rates significantly higher than the trade-agreement rates. Window glass measuring over 100 united inches, all thin sheet glass, and all heavy sheet glass are dutiable at the trade-agreement rates (table 1). The modified escape-action rates of duty currently applicable to imports of window glass (of all weights described as window glass, by sizes subject to such rates), as well as the corresponding trade-agreement rates and the ad valorem equivalents of those rates, based on 1969 imports, are shown in the following table. So long as increased rates of duty remain in effect on U.S. imports of window glass measuring 100 united inches or less, the Commission is required, under the provisions of section 351(a)(1) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, to make an annual report on developments with respect to the industry concerned. This report represents data for window glass as well as for all sheet glass; it describes mainly the developments that have occurred since those related in the Commission's report of December 1, 1969. 5 U.S. Consumption U.S. consumption of sheet glass (including window glass) declined sharply in 1970 (table 3). In January-September 1970, apparent U.S. consumption of all sheet glass was lower by 16 percent, and that of window glass was lower by 13 percent, than in the corresponding period of 1969. The drop in U.S. consumption appears to have resulted primarily from a decline in residential construction and automobile production, the principal markets of sheet glass (table 4). Automobile production was curtailed during the year by a prolonged strike that began in mid-September. Apparent U.S. consumption of sheet glass and window glass/ fluctuated considerably from year to year in the late 1960's. The apparent consumption of sheet glass was 13 percent smaller in 1967 than in 1965; it rose by 16 percent in 1968, and then declined by 2 percent in 1969. Apparent U.S. consumption of window glass changed little in 1965-67, being about 2 percent smaller in 1967 than in 1965; it increased by 15 percent in 1968, and then declined by 4 percent in 1969 (quantity figures in table 5). In 1969 window glass made up about ** percent, thin glass, about ** percent, and heavy sheet glass, about ** percent of the apparent U.S. consumption of sheet glass. 1/ Data on U.S. consumption, production, and shipments of window glass include such glass measuring over 100 united inches because data thereon cannot be segregated in the statistics obtained from U.S. producers. Window glass measuring over 100 united inches constitutes only a small portion of total U.S. consumption, production, and shipments of such glass. |