Committee To Investigate Crude Oil Imports, consists of the Secretaries of State, Defense, Treasury, Commerce, Interior, and Labor. The President designated the Secretary of Commerce as chairman of the QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS ON IMPORTS INTO During all or part of the last half of 1956 and the first half of 1957 the United States applied quantitative restrictions to imports of the following commodities: (1) Certain cotton and cotton waste, wheat and wheat flour, certain dairy products, certain butter substitutes, peanuts, and rye, under section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as amended, to prevent imports from interfering with domestic programs affecting the production or marketing of those commodities; (2) sugar, under the sugar act, to control the quantity of sugar supplied from both foreign and domestic sources; and (3) sugar, cordage, cigars, cigar filler and scrap tobacco, coconut oil, and buttons of pearl or shell imported from the Republic of the Philippines, as part of a program to gradually eliminate the United States preferential customs treatment accorded Philippine products entering the United States. These restrictions are discussed in detail in the following sections of this chapter. Under various legislative acts, the United States also prohibits or restricts imports of a wide range of other articles to protect public morals; to protect human, animal, or plant life or health; to control the importation of gold or silver; to facilitate customs enforcement; to protect patents, trademarks, and copyrights; to prevent deceptive practices, misrepresentations, and unfair competition; and to prevent importation of the products of forced labor. These prohibitions and restrictions were discussed in some detail in the Commission's fourth report on the operation of the trade agreements 1/ program. Restrictions Under Section 22 of the Agricultural During all or part of the period July 1, 1956, to June 30, 1957, the United States applied quantitative restrictions (quotas 2/) on the importation of certain cotton and cotton waste, wheat and wheat flour, certain dairy products, certain butter substitutes, peanuts, and rye under the provisions of section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as amended. 3/ During this period the United States also charged, under the provisions of section 22, fees on the importation of flaxseed, linseed oil, and peanut oil; these fees were in addition to the regular import duties levied on those products. Section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as amended, authorizes the President to restrict the importation of commodities, by the imposition either of fees or of quotas (within specified limits), whenever such imports render or tend to render ineffective, or materially interfere with, programs of the United States Department of Agriculture relating to agricultural commodities. requires the Tariff Commission, on direction of the President, to Section 22 Ch. 7. 2/ This discussion, as well as the following discussion on restrictions under the sugar act, relates only to quotas that limit the total quantity of imports. Such "absolute" quotas are to be distinguished from "tariff" quotas established for a number of individual articles in various trade agreements. Under tariff quotas, specified quantities of the articles may enter the United States at the ordinary rates of duty; imports in excess of the quota are subject to higher rates of auty but may be entered in unlimited quantities. 3/49 Stat. 750; 62 Stat. 1247; 64 Stat. 261; 7 U.S.C. 624. conduct an investigation, including a public hearing, and to make a report and recommendation to the President. Under subsection (f), as amended by section 8 (b) of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951, no trade agreement or other international agreement entered into at any time by the United States may be applied in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of section 22. Section 8 (a) of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951, 1/ as amended, establishes special procedures for invoking section 22 in emergency conditions due to the perishability of any agricultural commodity. When the Secretary of Agriculture reports to the President and to the Tariff Commission that such emergency conditions exist with respect to any agricultural commodity, the Tariff Commission must make an immediate investigation under section 22 (or sec. 7 of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951), and make appropriate recommendations to the President. The Commission's report to the President and the President's decision must be made not more than 25 calendar days after the case is submitted to the Commission. the President deem it necessary, however, he may take action without awaiting the recommendations of the Commission. Should An amendment to section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act by 2/ section 104 of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1953 provides that the President may take immediate action under section 22 without awaiting the Tariff Commission's recommendations whenever the Secretary of Agriculture determines and reports to him, with regard to any 1/ 65 Stat. 72. 2/ 67 Stat. 472. treatment. article or articles, that a condition exists requiring emergency Such action by the President may continue in effect pending his receipt of the report and recommendations of the Commission after an investigation under section 22, and his action thereon. Under section 8 (a) of the extension act of 1951, the President's authority to take action before he had received a report from the Commission was limited to perishable agricultural products.. No President thus far has ever taken action under either of the foregoing emergency provisions. Cotton and cotton waste (continuing investigation) Since 1939, under the provisions of section 22 and in accordance with recommendations of the Tariff Commission, the United States has restricted imports of most types of cotton and some types of cotton waste. During the period 1939-51, the Commission conducted a number of investigations to determine whether further restrictions were required on any type (such as short harsh or rough cotton), whether supplemental import quotas were necessary for certain types of longstaple cotton, or whether certain minor changes were advisable to facilitate administration of any of the quotas applicable to the various types. Although the Commission has not since 1951 conducted any investigations relating to either short-staple cotton, long-staple cotton, or cotton waste, it has continued to watch the developments with respect to those products. Wheat and wheat flour (continuing investigation) Since 1941, under the provisions of section 22 and in accordance with recommendations of the Tariff Commission, the United States has restricted imports of wheat and wheat flour, semolina, crushed or cracked wheat, and similar wheat products, in order to prevent interference with programs of the Department of Agriculture to control the production or marketing of domestic wheat. Imports in any quota year are limited to 800,000 bushels of wheat and to 4 million pounds of wheat flour, semolina, and similar wheat products. The quotas are allocated by country; in general, they are in proportion to imports from the several countries in the 12-year period 1929-40. Since their adoption in 1941 the basic quotas have not been changed, but exceptions have been made for distress shipments, seed wheat, wheat for experimental purposes, and wheat imported during the war by the War Food Administrator (virtually all of which was used for animal feed). Although the Commission has not completed any investigations relating to wheat, wheat flour, and other wheat products since 1943, 1/ it has continued to watch the developments with respect to those products. Dried figs and fig paste On October 2, 1956, at the direction of the President, the Tariff Commission instituted an investigation of dried figs and fig paste, under the provisions of section 22. The Commission held a public hearing on October 30 and 31, 1956. The institution of the investigation was followed by litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. On October 5, 1956, a certain importer of dried figs and fig paste filed a motion in that court 2/ for a preliminary injunction enjoining Early in 1955 the Commission--at the applicant's request--discontinued and dismissed an investigation of durum wheat (class II) or flour, including semolina, produced from such wheat. 2/ Civil Action No. 4008-56. |