Table 1.--Seed lac: U.S. imports for consumption, by principal sources, Total- 23,196 17,892: 18,578: 21,129: 10,528 : 8,568 Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce. December 1969 Table 2.--Bleached shellac: U.S. imports for consumption by sources, Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce. December 1969 Table 3.--Lac other than seed lac or bleached shellac: 1/ consumption by principal sources, 1963-68 Imports for 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 : : : Quantity (1,000 pounds) 1968 : Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce. December 1969 Note.--For the statutory description, see the Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA-1969). U.S. trade position Domestic production of natural balsams is insignificant; most balsams are imported in crude form and are further processed for specific uses. Description and uses Natural balsams are the physiological and pathological exudations of certain species of trees and plants, and are a mixture of essential oils, resins, and aromatic acids. Technically, the term "balsam" is usually limited to oleoresins containing benzoic or cinnamic acid, either free or combined in salts or esters; however, commercial usage of the term includes some oleoresins without these acids and excludes some oleoresins mixed with these acids. Balsams appear in commerce as aromatic thick liquids or semisolids in a color range from pale yellow to reddish or greyish brown. Most of them are fixatives for their own specific aroma or added aromatics and are used along with their extracted essential oils in cosmetics, soaps, pharmaceuticals and in a variety of other uses. Most of the balsams are considerably more expensive than the commercial gums and resins. The TSUS provides by name for three balsams--copaiba, styrax, and tolu--and a basket category for other natural balsams. Copaiba, TSUS item 188.18, is the balsam obtained from the trunk of Copaifera langsdorffi and other South American species of Copaifera. It appears as a pale yellow to brownish-yellow viscous liquid having a peculiar, aromatic odor and a persistent, bitter, nauseous taste. Copaiba consists of from 20 to 90 percent volatile oil, which is distilled from the balsam for medicinal and scenting purposes. Uses of copaiba are mainly industrial. It was once used medicinally in the treatment of inflammations of the bladder and occasionally in the treatment of bronchitis. However, development December 1969 |