ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(82)687
Vol.1982/0214

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(82)687 final .
Brussels ,21October 1982 .
EXTERNAL ELEMENT OFTHE STEEL PLAN FOR 1983
(Commission Communication totheCouncil )
^ \
COM(82 )68?final

COMMISSION COMMUNICATION TOTHECOUNCIL
Subject:Externalelementofthesteelplanfor1983
I.Introduction
Toensureeffectiveapplication oftheinternalelementofthesteelplan
itisnecessarythattheexternalelementshouldremaininforce.Itis
essentialthatexternalmeasuresbetakentosupporttheinternalanti-
crisismeasuresadoptedsince1978inpursuitoftheCouncil'ssteel
objectivesandtoensurethattheylosenoneoftheirimpact.
II.Functioning oftheinstruments oftheexternalelementofthesteel
plan
DependingonwhetherornottheCommissionhasconcludedarrangements with
thenon-membersuppliercountries,importsaresubjecttobasicpricesor
tothearrangements system.Bothofthesearebackedupbyforwardand
retrospective statisticalsurveillance measures.
(a)Basicprices
Thebasicpricesconstitutetheinstrumentinforcewithregardtoimports
originating innon-membercountrieswithwhichtheCommissionhasnot
concludedanarrangement .Thesepricesareadjustedperiodically according
totheincreaseinproductioncostsinthesuppliercountryorcountries
wherenormalconditionsofcompetition applyinrespectofsteelproducts,
orareamendedinaccordancewithexchangeratechanges.Thenextamendments
willbepublishedbeforetheendoftheyear.
Thisyearhasbroughtasharpincreaseinimportsfromcountriescoveredby
thebasicpricesystem,withthemonthlyaverageoverthefirsthalfofthe
yearover2>G?ohigherthanin1980.Thisaccountsforthesubstantial
increaseintheCommunity'stotalsteelimportsoverthefirsthalfof1982.
Overthelastfewyearsingeneral,andin1982inparticular,therehas
beenasharpincreaseintheshareoftheCommunity'stotalsteelimports
suppliedbycountriescoveredbythebasicpricescheme.Inmanycases,
priceslowerthanthebasicpriceshavebeenquoted.

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Tocombatthisdisturbing development ,assoonastheCommissionhas
2'eceivedtherelevantdata,ithasinitiatedanti-dumping proceedings
andhasimposedcountervailing dutiesinrespectofthemostmassive
importsoriginating incountriessubjecttothebasicpricesystem,
notablyBrazilasregardstheproductsnotcoveredbythearrangement .
TheCommissioniscurrentlyintheprocessofinitiatingananti-dumping
proceedinginrespectofcoilsandsheetsoriginatinginothercountries
withoutanarrangement .
(b)Arrangements
For1982theCommissionrenegotiated andextendedthearrangements
concludedwith14partnersin1981.Ithasheldregularconsultations
withitspartnersinordertoensurecompliancewiththeprovisionsof
thearrangements ;ithasalsoconsultedtheMemberStatesattheweekly
meetingsoftheSteelLiaisonCommitteeonvariousquestionsrelating
totheadministration ofthearrangements .
-Quantitative aspect
Thesearrangements coversome755®ofimportsintotheCommunity ;this
proportionhas,however,shownadownwardtrendin1982becauseof
increasedimportsfromcountriesnotcoveredbyanarrangement .
InaccordancewiththeCouncilDecisionof9December1981,theCommission
hasappliedtothequantitiesnegotiatedinI98Ointhebilateral
arrangements a9«5%reduction.Thesituationwasnotsuchastopermit
areductioninthisfigureforthesecondhalfoftheyear.
Anexamination ofthetrendoftradewiththeEFTAcountriesrevealsa
balanceinfavouroftheCommunityonthebasisofthecriterionof
reciprocity whichgovernsthistrade.

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Forcertainotherarrangementcountries,thebeginningoftheyearshowed
anappreciablerecoveryindeliveries ,butitcanbeanticipatedthatthe
quantitiesfixedfor1982willtosomeextentbeunusedsincethepaceof
deliverieswillbereducedveryconsiderably inthesecondhalf.
Itcanbeanticipatedthatthelevelofquotautilizationfor1982will
bearound75$.
Inthecourseoftheyearparticulardifficulties haveariseninrelations
withcertainpartnersasregardscompliancewiththeoverallquantities
andtheproperapplicationofthegeographical distribution andstaggering
clauses.
Inaddition,themonitoringoftheseprovisionsbytheCommissionhasbeen
mademoredifficultbythefactthatcertainMemberStateshavenotalways
appliedinaverysatisfactory waytheruleslaiddownfortheadministration
ofthearrangements .Foritspart,theCommissionhasimposedsanctions
ononeofitsarrangementpartnersintheformoftheexclusionofaproduct
fromthearrangementpricerulesfollowedbyitssubjectiontothebasic
pricesandtheintroduction ofananti-dumping duty;inothercases,a
suspensionorhaltingofdeliveriestocertainMemberStatesofproducts
originatingincertainnon-membercountriescoveredbyanarrangement has
beenobtained.
-Pricerules
Twofactorshaveinfluencedcompliancewiththepricerulesofthe
arrangement s:
(i)therecoveryininternalpricesduringthefirsthalfof1982,which,
foranumberofproducts,hasensuredcompliancewiththepricerules;
however,overthesameperiodsomelow-pricequotationshavebeen
notedforvariousproducts,particularly asaresultofalignmenton
pricescaleslowerthanthegeneralleveloronrealmarketprices:

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(ii)therenewedweakeningofpricesobservedduringthesummerforcertain
productsleadingtoalesserdegreeofcompliancewiththepricerules
andinadditionareductioninthevolumeofimports.
Asregardsthearrangementcountries,itisonlyviastrictapplication
ofthesurveillance systembyalltheMemberStatesthattheCommissioncan
verifywhethertheundertakings arebeingrespected.Itismoreimportant
thaneverthateachMemberStateshouldinformtheCommission,onacase-by-
casebasiswithallnecessarydetails,ofanyinfringement ofthepricerules.
(c)Surveillance system
Thesurveillance systemhasbeenextendeduntiltheendof1982.
Thelatecommunication ofstatisticsbycertainMemberStateshashampered
theproperadministration ofthesystemduringthefirsthalfoftheyear.
III.Externalelementofthesteelplanfor1983
(a)Basicprices
TheCommissionwillrevisethebasicpricesbeforetheendoftheyearto
reflecttheincreaseinproductioncostsandtotakeaccountoftheexchange
ratechangesthattookplaceon14June1982.IftheMemberStatesand
theCommunityindustrygivetheCommissionthenecessaryassistance ,itwill
beabletoensureanimprovedlevelofsurveillance oftheimportssubject
tobasicprices;tothatenditisproposingtocarryoutamonthly
examination withintheLiaisonCommitteeofthetrend-quantities and
prices–oftheimportsfromthecountriesnotcoveredbyanarrangement ,
therebyensuringtheimplementation oftheinstrumentsprovidingtrade
protectionagainstunfaircompetition.

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(b)Thearrangements System
Thearrangements arebased onuniform principles ,butareadapted ,inform
andmore specifically intheir quantity provisions ,according tothe
particular relationships that exist between theCommunity and itspartner
countries .This should notbechanged .
TheCommission proposes that themain provisions ofthearrangements should
becontinued without change for1983 *Thefollowing aretheessential
features :
-anobligation torespect theprice discipline
-margin ofpenetration
-Community producers areforbidden toalign their prices onprices
offered byarrangement countries
-product coverage
-quantity provisions -maintenance oftraditional trade flows inthe
light ofthetrend ontheCommunity market
-observance ofprovisions forthestaggering ofexports totheCommunity ,
their regional distribution andproduct-spread
-theapplication ofbasic prices toindirect imports andthecounting
ofsuch imports against theagreed quantities
-theexclusion from the coverage ofthearrangements oftemporary imports
forhire–processing onthecondition that theownership oftheproduct
does not change
-special provision forimports ofsteel foruse inshipbuilding and
repair-yards
–consultation clause
–suspension clause *

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E:x^i/'sitjUm£f_t^e_v^^°us_c ]iausies__c£irtained__in thearrsm^*e,nts_ajad
i"2r£vements_tote_«ade_forJ.9.83
–Geographical scope
TheCommissionproposesthatfor1983theSteelArrangements beextended
withthesanecountriesthatwereinvolvedin1982,namely:Austria,
Finland,Norway,Sweden,Australia,Brazil,SouthKorea,Spain,Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia ,Hungary,PolandandRomania,includingthespecial
"understanding "withJapan.TheCommissionispreparedtoexaminethe
desirability andpossibilityofextendingtheproductcoverageforBrazil
andofconcludingarrangements withotherpartners.
-Fixingofthequantities
Asregardsthequantitative aspects,theCouncilwouldbeinvitedto
set.thelimitsfor1983.Theprinciplesinforcewouldbeapplied:
thenewquantitiesshouldtakeaccountofthetrendofapparentconsumption
intheCommunity.TheCommunitymustfollowtheguidingprincipleof
fairburden-sharing assetoutinthe1977OECDconsensus.
Foritspart,theCommissionconsidersthatinviewoftheforeseeable
treudofdemandin1983aslightlygreaterreductiontL±uiin19"2inthe
quantitiescouldbeadopted.
Itwillbenecessarytoretaintheclauseprovidingforconsultations in
mid-yearatwhichanadjustmenttotakeaccountofanyimprovaaeatinthe
marketwouldbepossibleforthesecondhalfof1983.
Th^quantitiesnotusedunderthearrangements for1982casmotbecarried
overtobeaddedtothequantitiesenvisagedfor1983.
Inthenegotiations withtheEFTAcountries,theCommissionwilltakeaccount
ofthespecialnatureofthearrangements withthosecountries,whichare
concludedonthebasisofthefree-tradeagreements .

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Theunilateral quotas applied bycertain Member States inrespect ofthe
Eastern trading area may bemaintained attheir traditional level .
-Regional aspects ,staggering and breakdown byproduct
TheCommission will monitor compliance with theclause concerned with
regional distribution ,staggering andproduct breakdown .Compliance
with this clause isofparticular importance inthecase ofthemajor
suppliers .
Theneed tocomply with theobligations arising from this clause will be
highlighted during thenegotiations .Intheevent ofdifficulties occurring
in 1983 *immediate consultations will beorganized tofind asolution .
TheCommission will beatpains toensure that third countries comply with
theabove clause inregard toanyregion which isparticularly liable tobe
affected byinfringement oftherules governing import prices .
–Checks and penalties
Thesystem ofretrospective andforward surveillance will bereintroduced
in1983 .
Improved collaboration onthepart oftheMember States -principally through
theexpedited supply ofstatistics andthemore rapid establishment of
infringement files toenable theCommunity totake theaction open toit-
would enable theCommission tostrengthen theeffectiveness oftheclauses
laid down in1982 without theinclusion ofadditional provisions ,which
would beliable t®prejudice thenegotiability ofthearrangements for1983 .
TheCommission proposes that when there are indications that theprice rules
arebeing infringed inrespect ofagiven product orcountry itshould bring
this tothe attention ofthe Steel Liaison Committee sothat the Member States
canmonitor theimports inquestion more closely .

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IV.Procédure
Thenegotiations withthepartnercountrieswillbeconductedbytheCommission
inagreementwiththeMemberStateswithintheframeworkoftheSteelLiaison
Committee.Thetextsofthearrangements willbesubmitted,beforeconclusion,
tothePermanentRepresentatives Committee,inparticulartoobtainassent
fortheprohibition ofpricealignment.
V.SummaryoftheCommissionproposals
Tosumup,theCommissionrequeststhattheCouncilgiveitsagreementtothe
following:
-InlinewiththeOECOdeclaration,theCommissionwillproposetocertain
countrieswhichexportsteeltotheCommunitythat,inordertoavoid
disturbances ontheCommunitymarket,theyshouldconcludebilateral
arrangements withtheCommunityinvolvingpricediscipline.Atthesame
time,assuranceswillbegivenonthemaintenance oftraditional trade
flows,allowancebeingmade,however,foranypossiblereductionindemand
foreseenfor1983andalsofortheanti-crisis measuresinforcepursuant
toArticle58ECSC,whichapplyuntil30June1983.
-TheCommissionwillpresenttothePermanentRepresentatives Committeeits
proposalsonthequantitative aspectsofthearrangements withthepartner
countriesforwhichfigureshavetobeagreed;onthebasisofthedata
availabletotheCommission,itconsidersthataslightlygreaterreduction
thanin1982isjustifiedfor1983.
-TheCommissionwillreportregularlytotheSteelLiaisonCommitteeonthe
negotiations ;theCommitteewillexamineanyquestionsthatarisewitha
viewtofindingappropriate solutions.
QuestionsthatcannotberesolvedbytheSteelLiaisonCommitteewillbe
referredtothePermanentRepresentatives Committee.
-TheCommissionwillpresentthetextsofthearrangements tothePermanent
Representatives Committeebeforetheyareconcluded.