§ 23. Sir G. de Freitasasked the Secretary of State for Industry what recent discussions on the future of the steel industry he has had with Ministers and Commissioners of the European Community; and with what result.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe Council of Ministers met on 21st November to discuss steel matters including the problems of external trade. That meeting was attended by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade. No final decisions were taken, and discussion will be resumed at the Council meeting on 19th–20th December.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish data showing the relative price level, United Kingdom equals 100, of steel products covered by the Treaty of Paris in each of the member States of the EEC.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldThe British Steel Corporation is responsible for publishing its prices, which vary according to size, quality, etc. Comparison with European 83W prices is made difficult by the differences in the specifications in the various countries, but the following table, provided by the BSC, gives a broad indication of the relative levels of published home
BSC Prices=100 Product West Germany France Italy Belgium Billets … … … … … 117 105 79 120 Medium plates … … … … 95 95 93 154 Boiler plates … … … … 102 105 98 159 Structural beams … … … 89 88 87 93 Reinforcement steel … … … 99 96 99 106 Hot rolled strip … … … … 103 91 86 103 Hot rolled coil … … … … 115 99 98 113
BSC Prices=100 Product Netherlands Luxembourg Denmark Ireland Billets … … … … … N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. Medium plates … … … … 126 116 86 N.A. Boiler plates … … … … 131 N.A. 94 N.A. Structural beams … … … N.A. 105 N.A. N.A. Reinforcement steel … … … 107 109 96 97 Hot rolled strip … … … … 102 114 N.A. N.A. Hot rolled coil … … … … 113 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.—Not available.