§ Mr. Leadbitterasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the Common Market regulations, directives and agreements and the powers of control of the Common Market Commissioners which restrict the investment programme of the British Steel Corporation and its levels of production and prices, and limit the authority of the BSC and Her Majesty's Government to make their own decisions about the future policy for steel in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanThe treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and all the implementing 697W decisions have already been published and are available in the Library.
§ Mr. Leadbitterasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the prices of United Kingdom-produced steel and the prices of similar steels in the rest of the Common Market.
BSC prices=100 Product BSC West Germany France Italy Belgium Netherlands Denmark Luxembourg Billets … 100 159 136 125 130 — — — Medium Plates … 100 159 148 140 148 137 140 179 Boiler Plates … 100 177 165 144 166 159 153 — Beams Structural … 100 152 137 152 151 — — 161 Steel for Reinforcement … 100 146 134 159 160 164 150 160 Hot Rolled Strip … 100 143 124 135 135 140 — 150 Hot Rolled Coil … 100 142 120 137 140 138 — —
§ Mr. Leadbitterasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate has been made of total demand for steel in the United Kingdom for 1974.
§ Mr. EmeryNo precise estimates are available. It is expected that demand will continue at a high level throughout 1974.
January-August January-August 1972 1972 1973 Million tonnes Netherlands … … … … 0.39 0.24 0.25 Japan … … … … 0.33 0.23 0.12 Belgium/Luxembourg … … … … 0.30 0.18 0.18 Spain … … … … 0.29 0.24 0.05 Federal Republic of Germany … … … 0.29 0.14 0.34 Sweden … … … … 0.22 0.14 0.15 Norway … … … … 0.13 0.09 0.08 France … … … … 0.11 0.07 0.06 Others … … … … 0.60 0.34 0.49 TOTAL … … … … 2.66 1.67 1.72
§ Mr. Leadbitterasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much steel is exported currently and to which countries.
§ Mr. EmeryThe following table provided by the British Steel Corporation compares home trade prices in the countries of the European Communities with British Steel Corporation prices on 1st October 1973. It does not cover prices charged by United Kingdom private sector steel producers.
§ Mr. Leadbitterasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much steel is imported, and from which countries.
§ Mr. EmeryIn 1972 2.66 million tonnes of steel were imported. During the first eight months of 1973, 1.72 million tonnes were imported. The following countries supplied over 0.10 million tonnes in 1972:
the first eight months of 1973, 2.81 million tonnes were exported. Although in the period shown exports have increased slightly, those made by BSC show a slight reduction on actual exports in 1972 and a considerable reduction on planned exports.
699WThe following countries received over 0.10 million tonnes in 1972:
January-August January-August 1972 1972 1973 Million tonnes U.S.A … … … … … 1.07 0.58 0.57 Spain … … … … … 0.42 0.19 0.16 India … … … … … 0.31 0.20 0.13 Sweden … … … … … 0.20 0.12 0.15 Argentina … … … … … 0.18 0.10 0.07 Irish Republic … … … … … 0.16 0.10 0.12 Canada … … … … … 0.14 0.08 0.09 Norway … … … … … 0.14 0.08 0.09 U.S.S.R … … … … … 0.12 0.06 0.06 West Germany … … … … … 0.11 0.05 0.12 Denmark … … … … … 0.11 0.07 0.08 Other … … … … … 1.66 1.13 1.17 TOTAL … … … … … 4.62 2.76 2.81