In 1952 the Tariff Commission^, at the request of members of the tiina 

 industry, conducted an investigation to determine whether imports of certain 

 packs of tuna and bonito were such as to cause or threaten to cause serious 

 injury to the domestic tuna industryo On the basis of its investigation the 

 Tariff Commission found, two Commissioners dissenting^, that tuna, canned, 

 not in oil, was not imported in such quantities as to cause or threaten 

 serious injury to the domestic industryo 



Bonito and Yellowtail Canned in Oil 



Prior to World War II, imports of bonito and yellowtail canned in oil, 

 if any, were negligible o However, large supplies of these fish are available 

 along the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America » During the war, 

 canneries were established in Peru and Chile and both bonito and tuna were 

 packed o A portion of the production was exported to the United Statesj however, 

 these shipments of canned bonito and tana in the main were labeled and classi- 

 fied as "tuna" and data on the volume of bonito imported cannot be separated 

 from that of "tuna". 



In October 1943, as the result of an investigation made by the Food and 

 Drug Administration, in collaboration with the UoSo Department of State and 

 the Government of Peru, a study was made to datermlne the species of fish 

 being canned and shipped to the United States as tuna. It was found that boaito 

 ( Sarda chiliensis ) constituted a major portion of the pack. As a result of this 

 study the Food and Dpug Administration ruled that thereafter, such imports 

 must bear labels designating the product as "bonito** o In 1949, the first year 

 in which statistics are available on imports of bonito, shipments amounted to 

 8,053,940 poundso Imports increased to over 10 million pounds in 1951, and 

 to 13,811,535 pounds in 1952 o The import duty on bonito canned in oil is 1$ 

 percent ad valorem on impor'ts valued at over 9 cents per poundj, and 22 percent 

 on those valued at not over 9 cents per pound Since the declared value of 

 imported bonito is far in excess of 9 cents per pound, they are received 

 under the 15 percent duty. Imports of bonito canned in oil in 1952 amounted 

 to nearly 8 percent of the domestic productioa of canned tuna and tunalike 

 fishes . 



The Tariff Commission in its investigation in 1952 of the effect of 

 imports of bonito canned in oil on the domestic tuna industry found that these 

 imports were not being received in such quantities as to cause or threaten 

 serious injury to the domestic industryo 



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