YARNS, WOOLENS, AND WORSTEDS

STATEMENT OF RENE LUTZ, COMMODITIES DIVISION, OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

The CHAIRMAN. We will take up next the item for yarns, woolens, and worsteds. Do you have any table to give us?

Mr. LUTZ. No, sir; I have not.

The CHAIRMAN. There are no exports from the United States on those?

Mr. LUTZ. There is nothing programed on wool yarns.

The CHAIRMAN. Or woolens or worsteds?

Mr. LUTZ. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. There seems to be a little on woolens and worsteds. Is there any of it financed by ECA?

Mr. LUTZ. No, sir; there is not.

Mr. NITZE. This was gone into in detail because it is an important export item from these countries but not an important import item. Mr. LUTZ. It is important for the United Kingdom particularly and for France to some extent. However, we do a little exporting of wool yarns and fabrics.

The CHAIRMAN. Then this is not an item, from the standpoint of what we supply, that we need to go into very much.

Unless there are some questions on that, I won't go into that. What about cotton? We seem to have a cotton-cloth item in here that is considerable. Do you have any data on that? Does that cotton cloth come from the United States or does it come from some other place?

Mr. LUTZ. The amount shown under ECA shipments financed will come from the United States.

The CHAIRMAN. That will be in this table on page 5?
Mr. LUTZ. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. There seems to be an item set up for cotton yarn from the western hemisphere of $4,300,000, of which $2,700,000 is in the picture we are considering, and there is cotton cloth involving $72,000,000 in here.

Mr. LUTZ. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Where does that go?

Mr. LUTZ. The cotton yarn goes to Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. The CHAIRMAN. Under ECA?

Mr. LUTZ. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Why would it be going to those places?

Mr. Lutz. Those countries normally import a large percentage of their cotton-yarn requirements.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, you have 2,356 tons going to France.
Mr. LUTZ. No; that is fabrics.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, that is cotton cloth.

Mr. LUTZ. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And you have 381 tons going to Ireland.

Mr. LUTZ. Yes, sir. I believe Ireland, Norway, and Sweden are the three countries involved in the yarn program. Those countries normally get their supplies from the United Kingdom, and this is because of the inability of the United Kingdom to supply those markets.

The CHAIRMAN. Are not they able to supply their textile mills? Mr. LUTZ. Well, they have not the spindle capacity or the yarnproduction capacity sufficient to take care of that amount; that is, these three countries normally have a greater loom capacity than yarn-making capacity.

Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. You are building Ireland away up above. prewar, are you not, both on cotton yarn and cotton cloth?

Mr. LUTZ. That is true. They opened up a spinning plant there, but still their domestic industry is not able to supply the needs of the weaving mills.

The CHAIRMAN. They are still importing both the cloth and the yarn?

Mr. LUTZ. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. I wonder just the reason for so much of the financing, all of it from the United States.

For the Netherlands, you have an importation of cotton cloth. They did not used to import much cotton cloth.

Mr. LUTZ. That cotton cloth is intended for the Netherlands East Indies. That first column includes shipments to the colonies, whereas the following sets of columns cover only the domestic picture; so that tonnage is meant for the Netherlands East Indies, which normally got their supplies chiefly from Japan. With Japan pretty much out of the picture, they must look elsewhere for their supplies.

The CHAIRMAN. The yarn business in Norway and Sweden is not a big item.

Mr. LUTZ. No, sir; very small.

The CHAIRMAN. Your big item is Ireland and the United Kingdom. There does not seem to be a big lot other than that.

Mr. LUTZ. That is true, sir.

WOOD PULP

The CHAIRMAN. The next is wood pulp. Is there any sending of wood pulp by ECA?

Mr. NITZE. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Nowhere?

Mr. NITZE. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. How about newsprint?

Mr. NITZE. There is.

The CHAIRMAN. There is some there to Ireland. Why would they be getting it from us?

Mr. HAWK. We have no specialist here on any of the forest commodities.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1948.

RUBBER

STATEMENT OF S. E. OVERLEY, CHIEF RUBBER SECTION, COMMODITIES DIVISION, OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

TRADE,

The CHAIRMAN. I believe the first item we take up this morning is rubber. How much rubber is in this ECA financing?

Mr. OVERLEY. Six thousand and a fraction tons.

The CHAIRMAN. And what is it?

Mr. OVERLEY. Synthetic rubber.

The CHAIRMAN. That means it is part of our production?

Mr. OVERLEY. That is right. This 6,000 tons I am referring to is the amount coming from the United States. We do not anticipate reexporting any natural rubber.

The CHAIRMAN. What is your position, Mr. Overley?

Mr. OVERLEY. I am Chief of the Rubber Section of the Commodities Division, Office of International Trade.

UNITED STATES PRODUCTION, IMPORTS, SUPPLY, EXPORTS, AND STOCKS OF RUBBER

I have some figures here of United States production, imports, supply, exports, and stocks of rubber.

The CHAIRMAN. You may put that into the record.

(The matter referred to is as follows:)

The CHAIRMAN. This shows it is proposed to send 4,500 tons.
Mr. OVERLEY. 4,500 tons to France and 1,500 to Italy.

The CHAIRMAN. Those are the entire shipments?

Mr. OVERLEY. To be financed; yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. That is the entire block of United States exports? Mr. OVERLEY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. That gives France a good deal more rubber than she had prewar, and they had more in 1946 and 1947 than they had prewar.

Mr. OVERLEY. You will recall that prewar we had no syntheticrubber industry in this country.

The CHAIRMAN. I know; but there is more rubber.

Mr. OVERLEY. You mean across the board?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes; across the board.

Mr. OVERLEY. That is quite true.

The CHAIRMAN. Why would that be?

Mr. OVERLEY. They are expanding their industry to take care of the backlog, just the same as we have in this country. Prewar, for example in 1941, we consumed 781,000, and last year we consumed 1,123,000. The rubber industry throughout the world has increased, and we feel it is rather a sustained increase.

The CHAIRMAN. These figures in the column headed "U. S. cons."does that mean United States consumption?

Mr. OVERLEY. That is right. The first column is the United States production.

The CHAIRMAN. The consumption figure does not seem to have increased from prewar in the United States, although the imports and supply do. I am looking at natural rubber.

Mr. OVERLEY. Natural rubber has been in short supply.

The CHAIRMAN. Of course, there was no substantial synthetic production prewar.

Mr. OVERLEY. No.

The CHAIRMAN. Your increase is all in your synthetic rubber. Mr. OVERLEY. That is right; because natural rubber has not been in free enough supply, the synthetic is supplementing that.

The CHAIRMAN. I do not understand this table. For instance, the stocks of natural rubber go up only 5,000 tons while the difference between the imports and the consumption is 151,000 tons. I do not understand why the stocks should not go up, too.

Mr. OVERLEY. You remember from 1941 until March 31 of 1947, the Government was the exclusive buyer of natural rubber in the United States, and during the middle part of 1947 the civilian deficiency was set up and the balance of the stocks were passed to the strategic stockpile.

The CHAIRMAN. Would not they be included in the United States stocks?

Mr. OVERLEY. No. The Army and Navy Munitions Board hold those figures as secret figures; so this does not include them. The CHAIRMAN. This is the commercial stock?

Mr. OVERLEY. Well, there is a small amount of Government stock that was still classified as civilian deficiency in this 132,000. I might say as of the end of March the figure was substantially 130,000 with no Government stocks whatever. The balance of the stocks that