§ Mr. Hickmetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the restructuring of the steel industry in the European Community.
§ Mr. Norman LamontFor a long time the United Kingdom led the Community in reducing steel capacity, and I am glad to be able to report that other member states are now matching and in some cases surpassing our efforts. The aim of the EC steel aids code has been to bring supply into line with demand so that the European steel industry can stand on its own feet, and the European Commission is now confident that the specific target of reducing hot-rolled steel capacity by 30 to 35 million tonnes per year by the end of 1985 will be achieved.
The progress being made in restructuring the Community steel industry is illustrated by the following table prepared by the Commission. It shows in particular that, between the beginning of 1980 and the end of this year, capacity cuts totalling 21.9 million tonnes will have actually been carried out.