East-West Trade Trends Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951 (the Battle Act); Fourth Report to Congress, Second Half of 1953

Part 9

Chapter 92,955 wordsPublic domain

Many commodities are subject to special licensing controls under exchange restrictions or emergency regulations. The only exemptions to licensing are goods transitting the colony on a through bill of lading, and those shipments customarily exempted in international trade, such as parcel post shipments under $50, etc.

Transit Controls

Goods which transit the port of Singapore without offloading are subject to no control. Goods which are landed in the colony for the purpose of transshipment on a through bill of lading to another destination are also subject to no local license or declaration, as long as such goods remain in the custody of the harbor board or of the agent of the ship from which landed. Transshipment goods not on through bills are treated as reexports, and are subject to full export control.

Shipping Controls

The United Kingdom Control of Trade by Sea Order (China and North Korea) 1953, went into effect in Singapore on March 31, 1953. Since that time, measures taken to implement the order effectively have included placing all bunkering of ships, either coal or oil, of over 500 gross registered tons, on a local licensing basis. This places bunkering under the control of the Controller of Exports and Imports. Voyage licensing of vessel is under the control of the Master Attendant.

TURKEY

Export Controls

Under the new foreign trade regime, Turkish exports are grouped in two lists. List I contains all Turkish export commodities, the export of which is unrestricted unless they also appear on list II. A simple customs exit declaration based on the exporter's application is all which is necessary to realize list I exports. List II designates commodities requiring export licenses. The export license can be obtained from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce or agencies so designated by the said Ministry. List II items may also be exported by certain Government or semigovernmental agencies only. The list II commodities subject to such licensing procedure are as follows: cereals (barley, wheat, rye, corn, oats, and rice) and cereal products (semolina, macaroni, starch, noodles, flour); animal products (butter); dried fruits and nuts (pistachios shelled or unshelled, seedless dried raisins); minerals and mineral products (asbestos, copper, copper waste and scrap, copper plates, bars and wires); copper alloys and copper alloy products; barite; steel and iron waste and scrap; zinc ore; zinc mixed with lead; iron ore and pyrites; pig iron; iron products and waste and scrap; ferro-manganese; graphite; calco-pyrite; chrome ore; lead ore; sulphur ore; stone coal; mineral waste; coke and coke dust; manganese ore; molybdenum; tin waste; raw materials for textiles (cotton linters, greasy wool); vegetable oils (olive oil, margarines); tobacco and opium (tobacco processed and leaf, opium); creosote and xylol; sodium fluoro-silicate; toluol; mineral oils mixed with phenol and naphtha; straw; pistols and ammunition.

Transit Controls

There is no large amount of intransit trade in Turkey. All intransit goods arriving in Turkey, however, must carry on all shipping documents (including bill of lading and ship manifest) and outer containers the name of the Turkish port, the phrase "in transit to" and the name of the city and country of destination.

Generally, goods moving intransit through Turkey may be imported only through customs warehouses.

Extensive documentation, including a reexport license, is required for clearance by the Turkish Customs Administration.

Financial Controls

Export-control measures are designed for two purposes: (1) to keep a check on outgoing strategic or short-supply materials, and (2) they are instituted also for foreign-exchange reasons. For price-checking purposes in order that foreign-exchange losses can be prevented, exporters must register with agencies designated by the Ministry of Finance. Customs authorities do not permit exportation without a certificate of registration and destination. All foreign currency receipts are turned over to the Central Bank of Turkey.

UNITED KINGDOM

License Requirements

The export control system in the United Kingdom is similar to but not identical with that of the United States. It is administered by the Board of Trade. Although the present system grew out of measures originally promulgated at the start of World War II, its primary purpose now is the safeguarding of the country's requirements of strategic and short-supply goods, and the restriction of the flow of such items to undesirable destinations. The United Kingdom security trade control program was instituted in 1947.

The United Kingdom export control mechanism operates in the following manner:

The consolidated order, which encompasses all the items subject to control, is a published document and revisions are issued in the form of statutory orders which are also published in the Board of Trade Journal (an official weekly). The list is arranged into three schedules. The first schedule lists goods which, in general, cannot be exported to any destination without a license. The second schedule lists additional goods (mostly foodstuffs) which, in general, can be exported to any destination without a license. The two schedules are, however, subject to two qualifications. Firstly, a limited number of goods included in the first schedule can be exported without license to destinations within the British Commonwealth (except Hong Kong), Ireland, and the United States. Such goods are listed in the third schedule. Secondly, no goods, even those included on the second schedule, can be exported without license to China, Hong Kong, Macao, or Tibet.

The extent of the restriction on individual items is reflected in the administration of the control. Strict control is maintained over items which are prohibited exportation to certain areas, as, for instance, aircraft, firearms, ammunition, atomic materials. The exportation of a wide range of goods of strategic importance, including rubber, to Communist China is prohibited, as is the exportation to the Soviet bloc in Europe of a somewhat narrower range of commodities. The export to the Soviet bloc of many other items is subject to limitations as to quantities permitted to be shipped. In addition, there is the great bulk of items on which control is achieved through case-by-case scrutiny of individual license applications.

Transit Controls

The United Kingdom has had in effect since November 1951 a system whereby about 250 items of strategic importance arriving from other countries are subject to transshipment control. Individual licenses are required for all of the items on the licensing list before any of the goods, after being landed in the United Kingdom, can be transshipped to any destination other than the British Commonwealth (except Hong Kong), Ireland, and the United States. In administering the control, the British authorities normally grant licenses when they are satisfied that the goods will not be diverted to the Soviet bloc, China, etc., contrary to the wishes of the exporting country.

The United Kingdom has effectively implemented import certificate-delivery verification procedures.

Shipping Controls

In order to restrict further the flow of strategic goods to China and as an additional measure of control, a statutory order (titled the Control of Trade by Sea (China and North Korea) Order, 1953) was made on March 13, 1953, pursuant to which the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation is empowered to control all shipping to China and North Korea. In essence, the order applies to all British ships having a gross tonnage of 500 tons, limits the type of trade in which the ships may engage and the voyages which may be undertaken, affects the class of cargo or passengers which may be carried, and imposes certain conditions on the hiring of ships. Approximately a hundred items are listed in a schedule which is an integral part of the license issued under the order in question. These items are banned from carriage to China in British flag vessels.

While formal shipping controls were not adopted until March 17, 1953, British shipping circles were kept under fairly close scrutiny by the Government ever since the adoption on May 18, 1951, by the Additional Measures Committee of the United Nations of the resolution to apply economic sanctions against China as a result of her aggressive intervention in Korea.

Complementary controls over the bunkering of vessels carrying strategic cargo (as defined in the Shipping Control Order) to China were adopted at the same time that the order affecting shipping became operative. These controls are administered by the Ministry of Fuel and Power on an informal basis, in cooperation with British oil companies which deny bunkers to ships carrying strategic cargo to China.

UNITED STATES

Export Controls in General

The Department of Commerce is responsible for controls over nearly all commercial exportations from the United States under the Export Control Act of 1949, as extended.

The Department of State is responsible for control over the exportation of arms, ammunition, and implements of war; the Atomic Energy Commission administers controls over the export of major atomic energy items; and the Department of Treasury administers controls over the exportation of gold and narcotics. All such items required export licenses, and shipments to the Soviet bloc are not permitted.

Administration of Export Controls by Commerce Department

All commodities exported to any destination, except Canada, from the United States, its territories and possessions are subject to export control. There are three main techniques utilized in the administration of such controls:

1. Shipments of commodities contained in the Positive List[3] are under control to virtually all destinations;

2. For some commodities, a general license is authorized permitting exportation to virtually all friendly destinations without requiring that an export license be issued;

3. All commodities, whether or not on the Positive List and irrespective of any general license provisions, are under licensing control to subgroup A destinations (i.e., Soviet Bloc, including Communist China and North Korea), Hong Kong and Macao.

The Comprehensive Export Schedule published by the Bureau of Foreign Commerce (BFC) of the Department of Commerce must be consulted in order to determine whether a validated license is required for the exportation of a given commodity to a specific destination as well as to determine other export control regulations of the Commerce Department. The Comprehensive Export Schedule is supplemented 2 or 3 times a month by BFC's Current Export Bulletin. The Secretary of Commerce's Quarterly Report to the President and the Congress reports major policy changes and activities of the Department of Commerce in carrying out its export control activities.

The two main policies as indicated in the Export Control Act which is administered by the Department of Commerce are export controls for security and for short supply reasons. The objective of security controls as embodied in the Export Control Act of 1949, as extended, is to exercise the necessary vigilance over exports from the standpoint of their significance to the national security. The controls were designed to deny or restrict the exportation of strategic commodities to the Soviet bloc in order to impede the buildup and maintenance of the Soviet war potential. Shipments of all commodities to Communist China and North Korea are embargoed while shipments to the European Soviet bloc, Hong Kong, and Macao are either denied or restricted. In addition, all proposed shipments of strategic commodities to all destinations, except Canada, are carefully scrutinized to assure that the goods will not be transshipped or diverted to unfriendly hands. The Commerce Department has developed procedures to prevent the frustration of our own export controls which would result from shipping a strategic item to a country which (1) ships identical or closely similar items to the Soviet bloc, or (2) would use the American item directly in the manufacture of strategic items for the Soviet bloc.

In order to prevent the transshipment abroad of United States commodities, the Department of Commerce also has regulations covering the unauthorized movement of United States commodities after they leave United States shores. These regulations generally referred to as the "destination control" provisions are designed to prohibit the reexportation from the country of ultimate destination except upon written authorization from BFC. These regulations also restrict ships, planes or other carriers from delivering United States origin goods to other than the destination specified on the export control documents. In addition, the United States participates in the international IC/DV (import certificate--delivery verification) system described elsewhere in this report.

In addition to United States export controls for security reasons, it is necessary to administer export controls for short supply reasons in order to protect the domestic economy from the excessive drain of scarce materials and to reduce the inflationary impact of abnormal demand. Such controls are usually exercised by means of export programs or quotas fixed by the Secretary of Commerce. The easing of supply programs in recent months has led to the prompt lifting of nearly all domestic controls over materials: such actions have generally been followed by the relaxation of related export controls for short supply reasons. Thus, export controls for short supply reasons do not play as important a part as before in comparison with security controls.

[3] The Positive List of Commodities is a current list contained in the Comprehensive Export Schedule showing the commodities which require a validated license from the Bureau of Foreign Commerce of the Department of Commerce.

Transit Controls

A validated export license is required for the exportation from any seaport, land frontier, airport, or foreign trade zone in the United States of certain strategic goods in transit through the United States which originate in or are destined for a foreign country. The commodities so controlled are the ones which are identified on the United States Department of Commerce Positive List by an asterisk.

Shipping Controls

Department of Commerce Transportation Order T-1 denies any United States-registered vessel or aircraft authority to carry items listed on the Positive List, or arms, ammunition and implements of war or fissionable material, to any Soviet bloc destination, Hong Kong or Macao without a validated license issued by BFC or other appropriate licensing agencies or the express permission of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation. This order includes shipments from foreign ports as well as from the United States.

Department of Commerce Transportation Order T-2 has the effect of preventing the transportation of any commodities directly or indirectly to Communist China, North Korea, or areas under their control, by United States-registered vessels or aircraft. It also prohibits American ships and aircraft from calling at any port or place in Communist China.

A validated license is required for delivery in United States ports of specified types of petroleum and petroleum products to foreign vessels, if the foreign carrier has called at any point under Far Eastern Communist control, or at Macao, since January 1, 1953, or will carry commodities of any origin from the United States destined directly or indirectly for any such point within a period of 120 days in the case of a vessel, or 30 days in the case of any aircraft. This regulation also requires that if a carrier is registered in or under charter to a Soviet-bloc country or is under charter to a national of a Soviet-bloc country it will be necessary to apply to BFC for a validated license.

American petroleum companies at certain foreign ports are prohibited without a Treasury Department authorization from bunkering any vessel bound for a Communist Far East port or Macao or which is carrying goods destined for Communist China or North Korea. Similar restrictions apply to the bunkering by these companies of vessels returning from Communist Far East ports or Macao.

Financial and Transaction Controls

The Foreign Assets Control Regulations, administered by the Treasury Department, block the assets here of Communist China, North Korea and their nationals and prohibit unlicensed dealings involving property in which Communist China, or North Korea, or their nationals, have any interest. The regulations prevent the use of United States financial facilities by those countries and their nationals. These regulations also prohibit the unlicensed importation of goods of Chinese Communist or North Korean origin.

Treasury regulations also prohibit Americans, including foreign subsidiaries of United States firms, from participating in the purchase or sale of certain important commodities for ultimate shipment from any country outside the United States to the countries of the Soviet bloc. These transactions controls, which are complementary to the United States export control laws, are administered by the Treasury Department under Foreign Assets Control Regulations.

_APPENDIX B_

=Statistical Tables=

Table 1. Free-world trade with Soviet Bloc, 1948 through 1953. Table 2. Exports of principal free-world countries to Soviet Bloc, 1951, 1952, and 1953. Table 3. Imports of principal free world countries from the Soviet Bloc, 1951, 1952, and 1953. Table 4. Free-world exports to the Soviet Bloc, monthly, 1952 and 1953. Table 5. Free-world imports from the Soviet Bloc, monthly, 1952 and 1953. Table 6. Free-world exports to Communist China, semiannual 1952 and 1953. Table 7. Free-world imports from Communist China, semiannual 1952 and 1953. Table 8. United States trade with the Soviet-Bloc countries, 1937, 1948, 1952 and 1953.

TABLE 1.--_Free-world trade with Soviet bloc, 1948 through 1953_

[In millions of United States dollars] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | | | | | | |(est.) | -------------------------+------+------+------+------+------+--------| Free-World exports to: | | | | | | | Entire bloc | 1,969| 1,680| 1,545| 1,685| 1,422| 1,350| |------+------+------+------+------+--------| U.S.S.R. | 533| 437| 301| 386| 481| 410| European satellites| 902| 919| 792| 853| 672| 660| China | 534| 324| 452| 446| 268| 280| |======+======+======+======+======+========| Free-World imports from: | | | | | | | Entire bloc | 2,005| 1,788| 1,727| 1,879| 1,608|[4]1,580| |------+------+------+------+------+--------| U.S.S.R. | 492| 272| 252| 397| 462| 380| European satellites| 1,026| 1,090| 940| 960| 780| 766| China | 487| 426| 535| 522| 366| 425| -------------------------+------+------+------+------+------+---------

[4] Includes $9 million imported by United States from Outer Mongolia.

NOTE.--Figures unadjusted for price changes. China data since 1949 refer, so far as possible, to Mainland (Communist) China including Manchuria and Inner Mongolia.

Source: Official statistics of Free-World Countries, compiled by U. S. Department of Commerce.

TABLE 2.--_Exports of principal free-world countries to Soviet bloc, 1951, 1952, and 1953_