§ Mr. Lightbownasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Council of European Community steel Ministers held in Brussels on 29 November.
§ Mr. TebbitThe Council which my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Industry and I attended, reaffirmed its commitment to restructuring the European steel industry. It also recognised the need for further action to restore price stability on the European steel market. It agreed that officials should examine the Commission's proposals on mandatory minimum prices and monitoring 497W of the market, in preparation for a further Council meeting on 14 December. I made it clear that there could be no lasting solution to the problems of the EC steel industry while excess European capacity persisted.
The Council also agreed on a more rigorous mandate for the Commission to negotiate voluntary restraint arrangements with the EC's main steel supplying countries in 1984. It also agreed that the Commission should make a further effort to obtain adequate compensation in GATT for the United States measures on special steels, and to secure improvements to meet the concerns of EC exporters. The Council agreed that, if there is no satisfactory conclusion to these negotiations by 15 January 1984, the EC should take retaliatory action in GATT.