§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a table showing the total volume of exports and imports of steel over the most recent annual period for which figures are available and comparable figures for each of the previous 10 years, showing the percentage of steel imports in each year which came from the EEC.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe following is the information:
364W
United Kingdom trade in steel industry products Exports Imports Percentage of United Kingdom imports from EC countries Million tonnes Million tonnes Million tonnes 1975 2.98 3.72 70 1976 3.52 4.09 64 1977 4.24 3.72 63 1978 4.22 3.67 61 1979 4.40 3.78 62 1980* 2.60 4.62 66 1981 3.78 3.31 76 1982 3.36 3.84 68 1983 3.93 3.34 71 1984 3.97 3.55 74 1985 4.69 3.75 73 * Affected by the steel strike.
Source: Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Commission of the EEC last proposed a reduction in the number of integrated steel plants in the United Kingdom; and what proposals were then made about long-term structure of the United Kingdom steel industry.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe European Commission has never made any such proposals.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to how many persons were employed in the steel industries of each member state of the EEC at the most recent date for which figures are available; and what percentage reduction this represents by comparison with a comparable date in 1978.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe following is the information:
Total labour force employed on ECSC activities '000 January 1986 January 1978 Percentage reduction Belgium 33.8 49.7 32 Denmark 1.8 2.5 28 France 75.4 140.7 46 Greece *4.2 n.a. n.a. Ireland 0.5 0.7 29 Italy 68.0 97.0 30 Luxembourg 12.6 17.4 28 Netherlands 18.7 21.9 15 United Kingdom 59.1 176.8 67 West Germany 150.4 208.2 28 Source: EUROSTAT.
*October 1985.