RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE concerning a fresh policy for the future of the Community steel industry (92/C 161/03)

(Unanimously adopted at the 299th Session of 2 June 1992)

THE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY (ECSC),

- drawing upon the memorandum drawn up by the Community steel producers, 'A fresh policy for the future of the Community steel industry`,

- considering that the Community steel industry is going through a very critical period which is characterized by a worldwide industrial recession, by an intensification of worldwide competition, by depressed prices together with lower demand and an increase in imports from countries which are not subject to the same economic rules,

- considering that restructuring in the Community steel industry must continue in order to maintain the competitiveness of the Community steel industry,

- considering that the ECSC Treaty accorded the Commission specific aims and wide particular responsibilities, and that it has to assume them efficiently,

asks the Commission to assume its responsibilities according to the following proposals:

(a) to redress steel price levels - in order to adapt them to the development of cost prices - at this critical period of time, the industry requests the Commission's help to ensure frequent and precise study and transparency of the market.

To achieve this, on the basis of Article 46 of the Treaty, quarterly forward programmes for production need to be drawn up for each steel product category. Undertakings ought, voluntarily, to notify their production and delivery intentions to the Commission, which should, on the basis of this information, assist the development of a better balanced market;

(b) to continue reducing the steel industry's costs - but without distorting conditions of competition within the Community - industrial groupings should be facilitated and encouraged, since concentration levels remain lower than those of the industry's international competitors, its main competing industry sectors and its customers;

(c) to avoid the negative consequences of imports from third countries on prices, the Commission needs to equip itself with the human resources and regulatory means necessary to use the GATT anti-dumping and countervailing procedures, by lodging complaints within short deadlines without submitting them to non-commercial considerations. In particular, the Commission should apply without delay the safeguard clauses provided for in the association agreements with the east European countries whose exports, which have sharply increased since the beginning of 1992, are made at very destabilizing price levels;

(d) without prejudice to the future of the ECSC Treaty, in order to limit the medium-term consequences of the financial weakening of the Community steel industry, the Commission - as already requested by the Consultative Committee in its resolution of 1 October 1991 (1) - should reduce gradually, and exceptionally having regard to the present situation, in a substantial manner the ECSC levy, a specific tax which affects neither imports nor competing products. The Commission should direct the use of ECSC funds towards the needs of the coal and steel industries and their workers.

In order to favour readaptation and productive re-employment of its excess labour force, the Commission should optimize the use of the instruments provided for by Article 56. Obviously it should abandon any idea of penalizing steel (e.g. by means of a CO2 tax), as requested by the Consultative Committee in its resolution of 3 April 1992 (2);

(e) to help the Community steel industry to maintain its traditional volume of exports to the United States of America, the Commission needs to ensure in a determined manner its defence against all American harassment aiming at reducing volumes, while looking with the steel companies for conditions for resuming the negotiations on a multilateral steel agreement, the only method to ensure free and fair trade at international level;

(f) taking into account, in particular, the excess capacity existing in the Community, the Commission must remain extremely critical of any State subsidies for the steel industry. If the Commission and the governments of the Member States consider that for political reasons the authorization of new subsidies is inevitable, then this support should have as its aim the solving of social problems arising from restructuring. In addition, as a counterbalance to requests for subsidy authorizations, the Commission should ensure that the reorganization plans presented to it will lead to capacity and production reductions which are large enough to afford unsubsidized steel companies an opportunity to reduce costs by increasing their production in present market conditions.

(1) OJ No C 291, 8. 11. 1991, p. 2.

(2) OJ No C 127, 19. 5. 1992, p. 2.