SORBITOL FROM

Determination of the Commission in Investigation No. 731-TA-44 (Preliminary) Under the Tariff Act of 1930, Together With the Information Obtain-ed in the Investigation

USITC PUBLICATION 1168

JULY 1981

United States lnternatlonal Trade Commission I , D.C. 20436 UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

COMMISSIONERS

Bill Alberger, Chairman Michael J. Calhoun, Vice Chairman Catherine Bedell Paula Stern

Kenneth A. Mason, Secretary to the Commission

This report prepared by:

Miriam A. Bishop, Investigator Bonnie Noreen, Office of Industries Anita Miller, Office of Economics Michael Jennison, Office of the General Counsel Catherine Field, Office of the General Counsel

Vera A. Libeau, Supervisory Investigator

Address all communications to Office of the Secretary United States International Trade Commission Washington, D.C. 20436 C 0 N T E N T S

Page Determination------1 Views of the Commission------3 Information obtained in the investigation Introduction------~------A- 1 The product: · Description------A- 1 The product imported from France------A- 2 Uses------A- 2 U.S. tariff treatment------A- 3 Nature and extent of alleged sales at less than fair value------A- 4 U.S. market and channels of distribution------A- 4 The domestic industry: U.S. producers------A- 6 U.S. importers------A- 7 Foreign producers------A- 8 The question of injury or likelihood thereof: U.S. production, capacity, and capacity utilization------A- 8 U.S. producers' commercial shipments------A-11 Inventories------A-14 Apparent U.S. consumption------A-17 U.S. employment and wages------A-17 Financial performance of U.S. producers------A-20 The question of the causal relationship between alleged LTFV imports from France and the alleged injury: U.S. imports and market penetration of alleged LTFV imports------A-22 Prices------A-24 Lost sales------A-31 Appendix A. Notice of Commission's investigation and conference------A-33 Appendix B. Department of Commerce's notice of initiation of anti- dumping investigation------A-35 Appendix c. Calender of public conference------A-37

Tables

1. Sorbitol: Selected firms' imports, by types and by sources, 1978-1980, January-, and January-------A- 9 2. Sorbitol: U.S. production, by types and by firms, 1978-80, January­ May 1980, and January-May 1981------A-10 3. Sorbitol: U.S. production, production capacity, and capacity utilization, by firms, 1978-80, January-May 1980, and January- May 1981------A-12 4. Sorbitol: U.S. producers' connnercial shipments, by types and by firms, 1978-80, January-May 1980, and January-May 1981------A-13 5. Sorbitol: U.S. producers' inventories, by types and by firms, as of . Dec. 31 of 1978-80, , 1980, and May 31, 1981------A-15 6. Sorbitol: U.S. production, imports for consumption, net change in inventories, exports, and apparent consumption, 1978-80, January- May 1980, and January-May 1981------A-18 C 0 N T E N T S

7. Sorbitol: u.s. producers' open-market shipments, imports for con­ sumption, net change in inventories, exports, and apparent open­ market consumption, 1978-80, January-May 1980, and January- May 1981------A-18 8. Average number of employees, total and production and related workers engaged in the manufacture of sorbitol, and wages paid to and hours worked by production and related workers producing sorbitol, by firms, 1978-80, January-May 1980, and January-May 1981------A-19 9. Profit-and-loss experience of selected U.S. producers of sorbitol on their sorbitol operations, by firms, 1978-80------A-21 10. U.S. producers' cash flow from operations on sorbitol, by selected firms, 1978-80------A-22 11. Sorbitol: U.S. imports for consumption, by sources, 1978-80, January-May 1980, and January-May 1981------A-23 12. Sorbitol: Imports by selected U.S. importers, by sources, 1978-80, January-May 1980, and January-May 1981------A-25 13. Crystalline sorbitol: U.S. producers' weighted average prices to major end users, by firms and by periods, January 1978-May 1981------A-26 14. Crystalline sorbitol: Weighted average prices to end users of imported and domestic merchandise, by periods, January 1978-May-1981------A-27 15. Liquid sorbitol: U.S. producers' weighted average prices to major end users, by firms and by periods, January 1978- May 1981------A-28 16. Liquid sorbitol: Weighted average prices to end users of imported and domestic merchandise, by periods, January 1978- May 1981------A-29 17.· Liquid sorbitol: Merck's and Lonza's prices to major toothpaste producers, by periods, January 1978-May 1981------~------A-30

Note.--Information which would disclose the confidential operations of individual concerns may not be published and has, therefore, been deleted from this report. These deletions are indicated by asterisks. 1

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