Hash, balls, pastes, and similar forms: U.S. imports for consumption, by kinds, 1963-68 Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Note.--During 1963-67, U.S. production of canned corned beef hash averaged about 78 million pounds annually; U.S. exports have been negligible in recent years. December 1969 Note.--For the statutory description, see the Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA-1969). U.S. trade position The bulk of the U.S. consumption of bean cake and similar products is supplied by domestic producers; imports supplement the domestic output. Comment In the Orient, soybean products serve largely as protein foods in place of milk, cheese, and meat. All of the products herein considered are prepared from soybeans; the most important are bean cake (tofu) and miso. To make bean cake, water-soaked soybeans are ground and diluted with water; the proteins in the resulting emulsion are coagulated and precipitated by adding calcium sulfate. The resulting curd, which has a white color and a soft delicate texture, is cut into cakes for marketing. Its protein content ranges from 6 to 17 percent, depending on the degree of moisture. The fresh product keeps for only a few days without refrigeration, but drying or smoking prolongs storage life. Bean cake imparts a meaty flavor in a variety of dishes, and in both China and Japan it is widely used as a food for young children. Bean stick is a bean product shaped in the form of spaghetti or noodles. In preparing bean stick, the beans are soaked in water, ground to a paste, sieved to remove the hulls, and kneaded into a dough. The dough is pressed through a sieve into hot water, which coagulates the string-like dough, which is then cooled, cut into lengths, and dried. Bean stick is usually used in soups or with vegetables that are prepared by boiling. Miso, a soybean and rice product popular in Japan, is prepared by a process of fermentation. With dark miso, which contains from 50 to 90 percent soybean and has a high concentration of salt, fermentation may proceed for several years. White miso, containing more rice and less salt, ferments more rapidly and the process may be completed in 2 weeks. The protein content is about 10 percent. Miso, with its paste-like consistency, is made into soups, or served with rice and other foods as a side dish or a dressing. For cooking December 1969 purposes, miso and thin soy sauce are to a certain extent interchangeable. Thin soy sauce (item 182.45) is discussed in the summary on sauces. Domestic and imported soybean products taste differently, particularly since the former products are generally consumed fresh and the latter have been preserved to retard spoilage. The column 1 rates of duty (see general headnote 3 in the TSUSA1969) applicable to bean cake, bean stick, miso, and similar products are shown below: Rate of duty Prior rate (rate at end of 1967)-- 28% ad val. States in 1964-67 trade con ference (Kennedy Round): Second stage, effective January 1, 1969--- Final stage, effective January 1, 1972---- 22% ad val. 14% ad val. The prior rate of 28 percent ad valorem had been in effect from July 1, 1963, through the end of 1967, and reflected a concession granted by the United States in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). As a result of a concession granted by the United States in the sixth round of trade negotiations under the GATT, the duty is being reduced by 50 percent in 5 annual stages (see the TSUSA-1969 for the other stages). Virtually the entire U.S. consumption of the products herein considered is by persons of Oriental extraction. The bulk of consumption has been supplied by small-scale domestic producers, most of whom are of Chinese and Japanese descent; annual production data are not available. Although U.S. annual imports were larger in the early 1960's than in most other years following World War II, they were still substantially below those in the 1930's. In the period 1963-68, annual imports ranged from 365,000 pounds to 616,000 pounds (see table). Hong Kong and Japan were the principal sources of imports, the bulk of which entered at west coast ports, New York, and Hawaii. U.S. exports of bean cake and similar products have been small in recent years and have gone largely to Canada. December 1969 1:14 Bean cake, bean stick, miso, and similar products: U.S. : : : Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Note.--The commercial manufacture of been cake, miso, and similar products has been confined to small scale operation by persons of Chinese and Japanese descent; production data are not available. U.S. exports have been negligible. December 1969 |