Page 1. Ceramic floor and wall tile: U.S. rates of duty in A20 2. Ceramic floor and wall tiles: U.S. rates of duty A21 3. Ceramic floor and wall tile (except quarry tile): A22 4. Ceramic mosaic tile: U.S. producers' shipments, A23 5. Glazed ceramic wall tile (except mosaic): U.S. 6. Ceramic floor and wall tile (except quarry tile): A24 A25 7. Ceramic floor and wall tile (except quarry tile): A26 8. Ceramic mosaic tile: U.S. imports for consumption, A27 9. Glazed ceramic wall tile (except mosaic): U.S. A28 U.S. Tariff Commission To the President: In accordance with section 301(f)(1) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (76 Stat. 885), the U.S. Tariff Commission herein reports the results of its investigation TEA-W-11 under section 301(c)(2) of the act. On January 19, 1970, a petition for the investigation was filed by the United Glass and Ceramic Workers of North America, AFL-CIO, on behalf of the production and maintenance workers of the Cambridge Tile Mfg. Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. The investigation was instituted on that date for the purpose of determining whether, as a result in major part of concessions granted under trade agreements, articles like or directly competitive with ceramic floor and wall tile produced by the Cambridge Tile Mfg. Co. are being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to cause, or threaten to cause, the unemployment or underemployment of a significant number or proportion of the workers of such manufacturing company. Public notice of the investigation was given in the Federal Register (35 F.R. 997, January 23, 1970). No public hearing was requested and none was held. Finding of the Commission On the basis of its investigation, the Commission finds (Commissioners Clubb and Moore dissenting) that articles like or directly competitive with ceramic floor and wall tile produced by the Cambridge Tile Mfg. Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, are not, as a result in major part of concessions granted under trade agreements, being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to cause, or threaten to cause, unemployment or underemployment of a significant number or proportion of the workers of such company. Considerations Supporting the Views of Chairman Sutton and Commissioners Leonard and Newsom Our determination is in the negative for the reason that the conditions imposed by section 301(c)(2) of the Trade Expansion Act (TEA) have not been satisfied. Before an affirmative determination could be made in this investigation, it would have to be established in our investigation that each of the following conditions has been met: (1) imports of ceramic tile are increasing; (2) the increased imports are in major part the result The dissenting opinion of Commissioners Clubb and Moore are set (3) (4) a significant number or portion of the workers of the increased imports resulting from trade-agreement threatening to cause the unemployment or under- If any one of these conditions is not met, an affirmative determina tion is not possible. Like There can be no doubt that in this investigation conditions (1) and (3) have been satisfied. By any standard of measure, it is clear that ceramic tile is being imported in increasing quantities. wise, it is clear that a significant number or proportion of the workers of the Cambridge Tile Mfg. Co. are unemployed or underemployed. However, as is explained below, we are unable to conclude that the increased imports of ceramic tile are "in major part" the result of concessions granted under trade agreements (condition (2)). Trade-agreement concessions have not been the only causal factor involved in the increased imports of ceramic tile. The increased imports have also been induced by a variety of other interrelated causes. The difficulties inherent in sorting out these causes and arriving at some judgment as to their respective weights does not permit us to ignore them or give them short shrift in carrying out our statutory responsibility. Certain observations about increased imports are in order: imports increased from 11 million square feet in 1955 to 47 million domestic consumption; during 1960-64 imports increased from 64 million to 132 million square feet, and supplied 28 percent of consumption; imports increased irregularly between 1965 and 1969 from 135 million to 159 million square feet, and supplied 35 percent of U.S. consumption. We observe that the greatest increase in imports as a percentage of domestic consumption occurred many years after the granting of tariff concessions in 1948, 1951, and 1956. For almost 15 years the domestic ceramic tile producers have been concerned about increasing imports of tile. During this period of time numerous investigations have been made by the Tariff Commission and 1/ other agencies of the U.S. Government. From the cumulative data amassed in the course of these investigations, it will be observed that the increased imports of ceramic tile are almost exclusively a phenomenon of the postwar resurgence and growth of Japanese industry. During the past five years it has been the oft-repeated position of U.S. producers that their problems with imported tile do not stem from the tariff level or past trade-agreement concessions. Rather, it is said that these problems have arisen because the Japanese manufacturers and exporters, in concert with U.S. importers and 1/ Tariff Commission investigations: Inv. No. TEA-W-5 (1963), TEA-W-6 (1967), and TEA-F-4 (1964); sec. 337, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (1966); and sec. 332, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (1966) (Inv. No. 332-50). Investigations by other agencies: Civil investigation by the Department of Justice, instituted in 1966; Treasury Department dumping complaints, Japanese ceramic wall tile (1965), and |