§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister for Trade if there are any restrictions, quotas, or tariffs which fall to be applied to the import of steel into member States of the European Economic Community; and if he will publish a table or statement outlining the scope of such restraints.
§ Mr. Peter ReesThe customs duties applicable to iron and steel products imported into the Community are set out in chapter 73 of the "Common Customs Tariff". Information about these rates is also available in "Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Tariff and Overseas Trade Classification", a copy of which is in the Library. Anti-dumping or countervailing duties are in force against a number of products from third country suppliers: part 13 of the "Tariff and Overseas Trade Classification" gives details of these duties. Voluntary restraint arrangements by which major suppliers to the Community undertake to limit their exports to traditional levels have been negotiated between the Community and Sweden, Finland, Norway, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Japan, Australia, Spain, South Korea and Brazil. These voluntary restraint arrangements incorporate a number of autonomous quotas on products from the CMEA countries of Eastern Europe imposed by individual member States prior to establishment of the European Communities and still maintained. In addition, the United Kingdom has quotas on certain products from the USSR and the GDR: details of these are set out in notice to importers, No. 1897, published in "British Business" on 21 May 1982.