İncluded in this volume (identified as volume 1:14) are subparts B, E, and G of part 15 of schedule 1 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States.

Subpart B of part 15 (part 15B) covers all preparations fit for human consumption and not specifically provided for elsewhere in schedule 1 of the tariff schedules. For most of the edible preparations, domestic production supplies the bulk of the consumption with imports consisting mainly of specialty products. Annual data on the production of the edible preparations are not available, but it is known that production is many times larger than the imports, which amounted to about $46 million in 1968. Nearly half of the imports in 1968 consisted of bakery products. Exports of the edible preparations in 1968 are estimated to have been about equal in value to the imports.

The items provided for in part 15E consist primarily of natural, as opposed to synthetic, gums and resins. They are all derived from plants, except lac which is from an insect. They are used in surface coatings, paper and textile sizing, pharmaceuticals, chewing gum, and a wide variety of food and industrial applications. Most of the products are free of duty. There is little or no domestic production of most items. Imports totaled about $30 million in 1968; domestic production of about $120 million and exports of $37 million in that year consisted principally of turpentine and rosin.

Part 15G provides for miscellaneous vegetable products not covered elsewhere in the tariff schedules. Data on production are not available for most of the products. In 1968 the value of U.S. imports amounted to about $50 million; U.S. exports in that year were small and consisted principally of hops.

Appendix A to this volume reproduces pertinent segments of the Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA-1969) relating to the items covered by this volume. It includes the general headnotes to the TSUS and parts 15B, 15E, and 15G of schedule 1. Appendix A also gives the rates of duty applicable to the individual TSUS items, including the staged annual rate modifications that resulted from concessions granted by the United States in the sixth (Kennedy) round of trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Notes in the appendix also document changes in the legal text of the tariff schedules and in the statistical annotations of items after these schedules went into effect on August 31, 1963.

Appendix B to this volume provides data on the value of the U.S. imports in 1968 by TSUS items included in the individual summaries of this volume. Appendix B also shows the percentage changes in imports from 1967 and the three principal countries which supplied imports in 1968.

December 1969

Note.--For the statutory description, see the Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA-1969).

U.S. trade position

Imports, which averaged $196,000 annually in 1963-68, supply most of the commercially packed antipasto consumed in the United States. Exports have been negligible or nil.

Comment

The prepared product known in domestic and international trade as antipasto is an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre. It is composed of a variety of ingredients, including fish (mostly tuna or sardines or both), vegetables, olives, and condiments and is packed in oil and/or sauces in airtight containers usually of glass or tin plate. The antipasto of commerce is a gourmet item having a limited market inasmuch as its consumption as a food product is confined largely to parties and similar festive occasions. Homemade and restaurant-made antipasto, not being bought and sold in the usual commercial channels, are not within the scope of this summary.

The column 1 rates of duty applicable to imports (see general headnote 3 in the TSUSA-1969) are as follows:

The tabulation above shows the column 1 rate of duty in effect prior to January 1, 1968, and modifications therein as a result of concessions granted by the United States in the sixth round of trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Only the second and final (fifth) stages of the annual rate modifications are shown above (see the TSUSA-1969 for the other stages). The

December 1969

rate in effect prior to January 1, 1968 (10 percent ad valorem) became effective July 1, 1963, and also reflected a concession granted by the United States in the GATT. Under the former tariff schedules, anti--pasto valued not over 9 cents per pound, and that valued over 9 cents: per pound were dutiable at separate rates, but since there was no trade in the lower value category a single rate was provided in the TSUS.

Antipasto is packed commercially by a limited number of concerns in the United States. Data on U.S. production of such antipasto are not available but the output is believed to be small compared to im-.-ports. Imports, which came mostly from Italy, averaged about 230,000 pounds annually in the years 1963-68 and their annual value averaged $196,000 (see table). Exports of antipasto are believed to be negligible or nil.

December 1969