§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Industry what progress is being made in discussions on a commodity agreement for tungsten; and what is the United Kingdom position on this matter.
§ Mr. CryerEarlier this year the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development established an intergovernmental Group of Experts on Tungsten to examine and assess proposals for international measures to stabilise the price of tungsten. UNCTAD will consider the group's report early in 1978 and will decide whether to convene a negotiating conference on tungsten. The United Kingdom is a member of the expert group and is participating fully in work designed to establish whether price stabilisation806W measures are feasible. The Government will determine their policy in the light of the outcome of this work in UNCTAD.