§ Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the progress of the European Economic Community measures against the United States Government's action on special steel imports.
§ Mr. ButcherThe EC Council of Ministers agreed on 29 November that if there was no satisfactory conclusion to negotiations with the United States by 15 January 1984 over the measures which they had taken on special steels, the Community should take retaliatory action in the GATT. Since then, despite further contacts between the Commission and the United States, there has been no 351W acceptable improvement in the US offer. The Community is therefore continuing its preparations for retaliation against an agreed list of US products.