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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(77)618final.
Brussels,22November1977*
COMMISSION COMMUNICATION TOTHECOUNCIL
ONTHE GUIDELINES FORACOMMUNITY POSITION WITHREGARD
TOTHEPREPARATORY WORKOFUNCTADFORANINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
COPPER
CCM(77)618final*

CommissionCommunication "totheCouncilontheguidelinesfor
aCommunitypositionwithregardtothepreparatory workofUKCTAD
foraninternational conference oncopper
Introduction
Copperisoneofthemostimportantofthe18commodities covered
bytheUNCTADIntegratedProgrammesetoutinNairobiResolution93(iV).
Thepreparatory meetingsforpossibleagreements onthesecommodities
arecurrentlytakingplace,whilenegotiations onaCommonFundfor
commodities havebegun.WithintheframeworkoftheIntegratedProsrarjne
copperwilldoubtlessplayaveryimportantrole.
Thethirdpreparatory meetingoncopperwillboheldinJanuary
nextyearand,accordingtothetimetablelaiddownbyResolution93(IV),
willhavethetaskofconcludingthepreparatory workonthismetal.In
allprobability ,itwillopenthewayfortheconveningofaconference.
Withoutanticipating futuredevelopments ,wemustbearinmindthat
itisatthisnextmeetingoncopperthatthebasesforthenegotiations
onapossibleagreementwillbeestablished.
Itisthereforenowtimetotackledirectlythequestionofthesort
ofcopperagreementthattheCommunitycouldparticipatein.
ThisCommunication triestoformulatethemainlinesofthe
Communitypositiononthisquestionpriortothecompletionofthe
preparatory workoncopperinthecontextofimplementation ofthe
Integrated Programme,withoutprejudicetodetailedproposalswhichthe
Commission maybecalledupontomakesubsequently .„ ^Itfirsxofallsummarizesthemainfeaturesoftheworldmarket
incopperandtheprovisionalconclusionstobedrawnfromthediscussions
oncopperafterthesecondUNCTADpreparatorymeetingandtheworkat
expertlevel.

Characteristics ofthe'worldmarketincopper
2*1*Anexamination ofworldtradeinoopperenablesustotistinguish
thefollowingfourmajorareas:
Thestate-trading countries
Thisarea,whichisdominated "bytheUSSR,theworld*ssecondlargest
producer(l400000t/year)*andconsumer(l200000t/year),is
characterized byplannedproductionandtradeandformsacompartmentthat
ispracticallyisolatedfromtherestoftheworldmarket.Theone
exceptionisPoland,whichhascontractual arrangements withtheFederal
RepublicofGermanyinvolvingrigidsupplycommitments (50000t/year)in
repaymentoftheFederalRepublic'sparticipation inmininginvestment.The
deliveriesthemselvesaremade,itappears,atthemarketprice.
TheArr.ericanarea
ThisareaiscentredontheUnitedStates,theworld'slargestproducer
(l700000t/year)andconsumer(l800000t/year).TheUnitedStatesis1
virtuallyself-sufficient (itsnetimportsofnomorethan200000t/year
aremarginalinrelationtoconsumption).TheAmericanareaischaracterized
bytheuseofvirtuallyuniformscaleofpricesgenerallyknownas
producer'sprices.Untilthesixties,UnitedStatescapitalcontrolled
practicallythewholeofthecopperindustryontheNorthandSouthAmerican
continentsandalargepartoftheindustryinotherPacificcountries.
Statetake-oversofthecopperindustryinthe£atinAmericancountries
andtheexpansionoftheJapaneseareahavereducedtheAmericanareabut
haveperhapsaccentuateditspositionasadistinctcompartment ofthe
worldmarket.However,itdoesstillextendwellbeyondthefrontiersof
theUnitedStates,embracinginparticularalargepartofthecopper
indistryinCanada(productionof500000t/year),andisactivelyinvolved
inthecoppertradeinallitsforms.
TheJananesearea
Japanimportsnine-tenths (900000t/year)ofitsminecopperrequire­
ments,mostlyinthefdrrnofconcentrates frommodest-scale miningoperations,
inwhichJapaneseinvestmentcapitalisofteninvolved.Theseoperations
arespreadoverCanada,LatinAmerica,South-EastAsiaandevenAfrica.
Alltheseordersofmagnitudearegiveninooppermetalequivalent.

The iuropean arca
Thecountries ofwestern Europe ,andfirst andforemost theCommunity
countries ,arealmost totally dependent onimports (l600000t/year )to
cover their mine copper requirements *Their imports arepurchased atthe
market price andmainly intheform ofcopper metal (themajority of
viiei .isforrefir.ir .^); theeair .sources cf«rjrr*ly *r#
Chile *
Itisthis European area that isno3t directly andintensely concerned by
anyaction affecting theworld market .
2.2.This schematic presentation should not ,however ,make uslose sight
ofthecopper market '.sextreme complexity duetothevery large number of
developed anddeveloping countries which aredirectly involved andtothe
fact that thedegree towhich they areinvolved ,the forir.s ofthe
product concerned andthetypes -ofarrangement vary greatly .This creates
extremely close interconnections between theareas ar.despecially between
thethree market-econoiry areas ;however ,thevast majority ofworld trade
isaccounted forbytheEuropean andJapanese areas .
Itisalso necessary tounderline the importance intheconsumer
countries ^ar.despecially intheCommunity andJapan ,ofreclaimed metal *
asasource ofsupply supplementary tomine copper .Reference must also
beifede tothescale oftheindustrialized countries' exports (l000000
t/year )andimports (700000t/year )ofsemi-finished products ;there is
some specialization inthetrade insemi-finished pAducts ;certain
countries (especially Japan andtheCommunity ,inparticular Belgium ,
theFederal Republic ofGermany andtheUnited Kingdom )figure among the
■exporters while others ,forinstance theUnited States ,areimporters ).
2.3.Asfarastheproducer-exporter countries areconcerned ,certain
developing countries arevery highly dependent ontheir copper exports :
Zambia 95^(700000t/year),Zaire 67£ (500000t/year )andChile 5o£
(600000t/year )anditshould benoticed that inthecase ofcopper ,price
fluctuations arerefioctuu .directly •* (ii)intneexport
■earr.ir .,7Softhere countries .These countries andanumber ofothers –Peru ,
Indonesia ,Papua andAustralia (associate member )–have formed aproducers'
Reclaimed copper (oroldcopper )cannot unfortunately becalculated
statistically under present circumstances asadistinct fraction of
second-melt metal (second-melt metal accounts forapproximately 45>»of
consumption inEurope );itwould certainly bevery instructive tofill
this gap ,since this would probably reveal significant differences
between the consumers .
2Itmuntbestressed that there isalackofdetailed data-particularly
byexporter orimporter country ,bytypo ofproduct traded andforperiods
ofoneyear orless -ontheaverage effective price ofprimary coppor
forcomparison with thecorresponding average LK2prices .Obviously the
arguments infavour ofmarket stabilization measures would bemore
convincing ifdata were available onaverage effective prices and
consequently onactual export earnings .Itwould alsobeuseful ifan
assessment could bemade oftheeffective copper balance ofthedeveloping
countries concerned andofthenetinflow offoreign currency appearing
insuch abalance sheet . _ »

•f4.
association ,theIntergovernmental CouncilofCopperExportingCountries
(CIPEC).Itshouldbestatedherethatthereseemstobenothreatin
theforeseeablefutureofmineresourcesdryingup.Newcountriesare
constantlyjoiningthegroupofmajorproducers,recentexamplesbeing
PolandandPapua,soontobejjoinedbyIran.Australia,Mexicoand
certainCaribbeancountriescouldappearonthesceneinthenottoo
distantfuture.
Forthesakeofcompleteness ,referenceshouldbemadetothe
prospectsforsea-bedexploitation .Inanyevent,wehavebeenina
periodofstructuralsurplussincetheendof1974withcopperproduction
capacityexceedingdemapd.Itisgenerallyestimatedthatthissituation
willcontinueintotheeighties.Itisgenerallyrecognized,however,
thatinthecaseofcopperthissituationisnoguaranteeagainstthe ;
possibility inthemediumtermoflongerorshorterperiodsofrelative .
shortage,giventheperiodofuptotenyearsrequiredformining ,
investmentstobecomeproductive.
2.4.Asfaraspriceformationisconcerned,anyattempttoapplya
pricescalesystematworldlevelhasbecomeimpossiblesincethemore
orlesscompletetake-overofcontrolofthecoppersectorbythe
developingproducercountriesandtheaccompanying reductionatworld
leveloftheverticalintegrationofthissector.Jnthepresentsituation,
anessentialcogintheworldmarketistheLondonMetalExchange
(LME),inwhichhedgingoperationsaffectingalargepartoftheworld
tradeincopperarecarriedout(worldexports:4500000t/year).
AtthesametimetheLKEpricesarereferredtoverywidelywhenthe
paymentsforcontractualdeliveriesofvirgincopperarefixed.The
principleofthissystemisnotgenerallyquestionedsinceitreflects
thefreemarketeconomysystemtowhichmostofthecountriesconcerned
subscribe.Underthesystem,however,itisnotpossibletoavoid
pricefluctuations thatareverymarkedand,inanyevent,greater
thanthoseaffecting,forexample,theAmericanscaleofprices*

5
Thedataonproductionandrequirements ,ofwhichsupplyar.ddemand
giveonlyadistortedpictureatcertaintimes,canonlyexplaintheextentof
thesepricefluctuations bytakingintoaccountthestructureofthecopper
industryanditsproductioncostsinrelationtochangesintheeconomic
situation *
Forthedevelopingcountries,thefluctuations duringaslumplead
toanincreasedpaymentsdeficitandthustoanacceleration inshortand
medium-term debtand,asfromacertainpoint,tounderemployment of
productioncapacityandserioussocialconsequences ;evenina"boom
period,however,thesecountriesarenot.abletomakejudicioususeof
theiroverabundantliquidity,whichleadstowastageandisatthemercy
oferosionofthevalueofcurrencies *Theconsumercountriesalsohave
tofaceseriousproblems:inperiodsofslumptherearethefinancial
consequences ofswollenanddepreciating stocks,andinboomperiodsthe
costofsuppliesandtheuncertainty ofthemarketpossiblyinvolving
backwardation ;whileatalltimesthefluctuations
necessitatelargertechnicalstocks*
Oneshouldalsoexaminethegenerallyinflationaryeffectoffluctuations
ofpricewhichinthecaseofcopperhaveadissuasiveeffectoninvestments
andthereforehaverepercussions ,asalreadyirvditated,overaverylong
period.
Theproblemsoftheworld
coppermarketaretheresultofthefactthat,underpresentconditions,
supplyadaptstodemandwithinsufficientflexibilitytoensureboth
regularityandsecurityofsuppliesandsales*
Inviewoftherolethatmanyofthoseconcernedwouldliketoassign
tostocksasameansofmarketstabilization ,itshouldberememberedthat
stocks,althoughinformationonthemhasneverbeensufficient,have
alwaysplayedanimportantroleintheeconomicsofthecoppersector*
Inthepresentsurplusperiod,whichbeganattheendof1974and
whichdoubtlessrepresentsasituationinwhichthelevelofstocksshould
reachthemaximumpossiblefigure,worldstockshavestabilizedsince1975
aroundtwomilliontonsrepresentingbetweenone^uarterandone-thirdof
theannualproductionofminecopper;inthistotal,theLISwarehouses
aloneaccountforover600000tandthoseofCOMEXapproximately200000t,
whileotherverylargequantitiesarestoredinJapan(300000t)andthe
UnitedStates(400000t)*

Conversely ,inthevery early months of1974 when 'backwardation and
prices were attheir highest point ever ,world stocks were reduced toa
minimum ofapproximately 500000 t.Between these twoextremes ,world
stocks ofbetween 750000 tand 1000000 tappear normal forperiods
when themarket isnearer equilibrium .
Ifourinformation astothe level andgeographical distribution of
stocks isoften imprecise andblurred ,ourinformation astotheir
ownership iseven less satisfactory# Allthat canbesaid isthat the
recorded stocks seem ,during aperiod ofequilibrium ,tobeshared invery
comparable blocks (ofapproximately one-third )between thewarehouses of
theterminal markets ,theproducer industries andtheconsumer industries ;
during aperiod ofshortage ,the share ofthe producer industries can
approach 60/owhile that held inthewarehouses oftheterminal markets
declines andcanbecome insignificant *During aperiod ofsurplus ,the
stocks held inthewarehouses oftheterminal markets increase appreciably
(currently inexcess of40%),while theshare held bytheconsumer
industries declines (currently less than 20$)•
• •
0
*
Pro&ress and results ofthe discussions oncopper
Before 1976 copper hadvirtually been left outofthetopics
discussed atworld level ,forinstance intheUnited Nations family .
3.1 .Thediscussions oncopper began with theconsultations organized
byUNCTAD inMarch 1976 ;these recommended toorganize consultations
between producers andconsumers .After theNairobi Conference (May1976 )
thediscussions were resumed inthecontext ofthepreparatory work in
theframework oftheIntegrated Programme onthebasis ofResolution
93(IV ).
Inline with theinformation given above ,themain participants in
these discussions were theCIPEC countries (developing producers ^,India
andBrazil (developing consumers ),Canada ,Australia ,Poland ,Japan ,the
European Economic Community and itsMember States andtheUnited States .
TheUSSR ,ontheother hand ,hasbeen very cautious inspite oftherole
itcould have played inthese discussions .

Thisworkcontinuedattwosessionsofthepreparatorymeetingon
copper,and"betweenthesession?anintergovernmental groupofexperts
metonthreeoccasions.Attheeecondsession,thedelegatesagreedthat
thestudiessuppliedtotheexpertsandtheconclusionstheyhaddrawn
onthecoppermarketconstituted asufficient "basisonwhichtotackle
theoperationalaspectsofapossibleagreementoncopper;thegroupof
expertswasthereforeinstructedtoundertake,withthesupportofthe
UNCTADSecretariat ,afeasibilitystudyontheimplications ofthe
implementation ofstockingand/orsupplymanagementmeasuresinvolving,
interalia,theuseofeconometric models.
Thisresultmarksanimportantstageinthepreparatorywork,since
itshowsthat,ofthevariousmeanslistedinResolution93(lV),onlythe
bufferstockandexportquotasareconsideredplausibleforthetimebeing.
Exportcontrolsseemsinfacttobethesolemeansofsupplymanagementthat
canactuallybeusedsincedirectcontroloverproductionisnotcompatible
withA*1®legalsystems,ofcertainnroductercountries.,.,wasfurthermore ,xheftnomeasurecouldoeappliedunder
rigidarrangements inalloircumstances orwithouttheclosecooperation
ofthoseconcerned *
3.2.Itisonlyapparentlyparadoxicalthatitshouldbepreciselyonthe
organization ofconcertedactionthatthecontroversyismostintenseand
persistent,opposingthesupportersofaflexiblemethod(thatisofan
organizedconcertedapproachpossiblyleading,ifthesituationdemands,
topartial,temporarymeasuresresortedtoonanautonomousbasisby
thoseconcerned)andthoseinfavouroflayingdownrule3(inaformal
agreementconcludedforafairlylongperiodandestablishing binding
economicmeasurestoimplementtheIntegratedProgramme).Thecontroversy
hascentredonthequestionofwhetheritisdesirable,asproposed
inparticularbytheCommunityandtheUnitedStates,toorganizethe
concertedapproachinparalleltothepreparatoryworkandwithoutawaiting
theopening,letalonethecompletion,ofaconferenceforthenegotiation
ofacopperagreement.Thisproposalwasgreetedwithscepticismbythe
developingproducers,certainofthemevenmakingtheconclusionofan
agreementapriorconditionfororganizedconsultations .Atpresent
signssuggestthattheearlyorganization ofconsultations willbeat
thepriceofexplicitcommitments ontheholdingofacopperagreement
negotiating conference.

8
GuidelinesforaCommunityposition
Itisclearfromtheforegoing3usthowlittleroomformanoeuvreis
nowleftfortheCommunityasthepreparatory workoncopper-inwhich
theMemberStates'expertshaveuptonowexpressedtheirownviewpoints-
approachescompletion *
Atthisstage,theCommissionfeelsthatonlyacommonpositionwill
enabletheCommunity toavoidhavingtoaccept
willy-nilly asolutionarrivedatwithouttheiractiveparticipation .The
Community shouldconsequently nowdecideonthemain
optionswithregardtothebasesforanynegotiations oncopper.The
Commissionisthereforenowpresentingitsorientations
withaviewtothefinalstageofthepreparatory
workoncopperundertheIntegrated Programme.
4.1.Orranizcdconsultations
Evenifoneacceptsthatnegotiations foracopperagreementcould
beginin1978,astartcouldbemadeonorganizedconsultations without
awaitingtheopeningofanegotiating conference,providedthatitdid
nothaveanadverseeffectonthecourseoftheworkleadinguptothe
negotiations .
TheCommunityshouldthereforemaintainitspositionwithregardtothe
launchingoforganizedconsultations inthenearfuture,orevenlinkits
acceptanceofadatein1978for*theopeningoftheconferencewiththe
fixingofadate(forexamplefromthestartof1978)fortheintroduction
ofsuchaconcertedapproach.
TheCommunityshouldatthesametimeinsistthatconsultations be
confined,untiltheentryintoforceofanyagreement,to:
a)informativeexchangesofviewsontheconsumption,productionand
economicandfinancialaspectsofcopper;thefuturesmarkets;international
tradeandthepricesactuallyapplied;technology ;expecteddevelopments
jj,intheaboveareas;>
b)thedissemination ofquantitative andqualitativedataonthese
subjects;
c)reporttothepreparatorymeetingortheconferenceonanyquestions
whenrequestedtodoso.
TheCommunitywouldendeavourtowinacceptancefortheideathatthe
organization ofconsultations should,amongotherthings,representa
testinggroundandthereforeincludemakingarrangements forparticipation
ι
inanappropriate and,ifpossible,directfashionbyindustrialand

9-
ι
"tradingfirmsinthecoppersector#
TheCommunityshouldalso*intoseetoitthatorganizedconsultations
becomeinprinoiplaanintegralpartoftheagreement.
4>2.TheaCTeement
Realismandforeseeabledevelopmentsargueagainstthemeremaintenance
ofthestatusquo.thatistheabsenceofanymeasures-.inrtewofthe
insecuritywhich,aspreviouslyindicated,presentlycharacterisesthecopper
economy*
Ittherefore
seemsthatthetimehascomefortheCommunityjtheworld*slargest
importerofcopper,totrytotaketheleadandsteerthemovementina
directionwhichwillensure(asfarascanbeforeseen)improvedfunctioning
ofthecoppersectorinthemediumandlongtermwhileavoidingtheadoption
ofarrangements whichwould,evenintheshort-term,discriminate
againsttheCommunityeconomies.ItisinthisspiritthattheCommunity
shouldtakethefollowingideasasabasisforafirstcopperagreement:
-maximumadaptability andshortduration;
–minimumamountofmeasures *
Inpracticethepossiblemeasuresforinclusioninafirstversion
oftheagreementarelimited,aswehaveseen,tobufferstockingand
supplymanagement * * .
Thequestionthereforearisesofchoosinganappropriate dosageof
thesetypesofmeasures,anditshouldberememberedherethatthepurpose
ofthestudyontheimplicationsofstockingand/orsupplymanagement
measureswhichtheintergovernmental groupofexpertshasbeenaskedto
preparebythepreparatory meetingistosupplycertaindetails,particularly
onthequantitative aspectsofthemeasurestobeenvisaged.
TheCommissionfeels,however,thatthisdoesnotdoawaywiththe
needtotrytoestablishhereandnowsomeguidelinesforacommonposition,
theordersofmagnitudebeingspecifiedlaterasappropriate.
Ontheotherhand,whileremainingattachedtotheprincipleofthe
autonorryofproductagreements,theCommissionfeelsthatitwouldbe
prematureatthisstagetomakeanypronouncement ontheproblems
connectedwithcarryingtheburdenofthemeasurescontemplated and,in
particular,withtheirfinancing.

10
Adaptability andduration
Forthecoppermarkettobeinequilibrium ,thelevelofsupply
roustrelatetoconsumption requirements andthepricebrackettobe
upheldimiBtproperlyreflectallthecostsinvolvedinprovidingusers
withthequantitiesofcopperequivalenttotheirrequirements .
Inpractice,onecannothopetoarriveatanexactcalculation of
thefiguresforthisequilibrium.Itwillthereforebenecessarytoadopt
a–tosomeextentexperimental –procedurewherebythemeasuresare
adjustedatsufficiently closeintervalsfortheireffectiveness tobe
guaranteed *
Withoutgoingsofarastoseetheagreementasastructurefor
ongoingnegotiations ,theCommunityshouldendeavourtoensurethatthe'
agreementincludesforumsfordiscussion andappropriate decision-making
mechanismsinadditiontothemanagement andinformationstructure.The
Communitywouldfavour,forinstance,theestablishment ofanagencyto
observethecoppertradeanditseconomics,withthejobofcollecting
dataandcarryingoutsurveysondemand,whileobservinglegitimate
businessconfidentiality tothemaximum.
Thesuccessofanagreementwillalsodependnotonlyontheapplication
ofthemeasuresstipulatedbyitbutalsotoaverylargeextentonthe
factthatmoregenerallytheparticipants willtakecaretodefinear.d
implementeconomicpolicieswhich,thoughdistinctar.dautonomous,come
togetherasfarascopperisconcernedintheobjectivesoftheagreement.
Onceanimprovedclimateinrelationsbetweenproducersandconsumers
hasbeenresotreditmightalsobepossible,attheappropriate time,to
reexaminethepossibility ofusingtypesofspecificmeasuressofar
provisionally ,namelyinthecontextofafirstagreement,setaside.All
thismakesaconcertedapproachessentialandtheagreementmustprovide
theappropriate frameworkforit.
Stillintermsofanexperimental approach,thefirstagreement
shouldhaveadurationofnomorethanthreeyears.Atthesametime,or
asanalternative ,theCommunitycouldcomeoutinfavourofaspecific
date,forexample31December198l»for"theexpiryofthisfirstagreement,
whichmightprovideforrenegotiations asfromanappropriate date.

11.
Measures
In "thepresent situation ofexcess production capacity ,which isnot
expected tochange intheshort term ,theCommission considers that
regulation andrationalization ofthemarket isinconceivable without supply '
management measures inthefirst place Texcluding obviously anyquestion of
cartels onthe part ofexporting countries .
Ontheother hand ,itisclear that ifthere ceased tobesurplus
production capacity export 'regulations would nolonger berequired .More
immediately ,thesize ofexisting stocks ,intheabsence ofappropriate
arrangements ,would leave themarket exposed totheeffect ofsudden
massive stock liquidation .Lastly ,since theaimofanagreement would
betoensure that copper prices remain both equitable andremunerative ,
following thelong-term market trend ,itdoes notseem possible toavoid ,the
explicit fixing ofareference price range with measures tomaintain it
without their contradicting thepurpose oftheAgreement . '
TheCommission istherefore oftheopinion that theagreement must
also provide means ofexerting discipline over stock movements .
This would have the morit ofreflecting inthe context ofthe
measures thecomplementarity ofproducers and consumers .
TheCommission quite sees ,howover ,that itisimportant forthe
Community and itsMember States topreserve their freedom ofaction asfar
aspossible andtokeep administrative complications toaminimum .
Onthematter ofexport regulations ,since copper istraded world-wide in
four different forms -concentrates andmattes ,blister ,refined (cathodes
andwire-bars )andscrap -theCommunity would favour export quotas
applying toalltheparticipants without distinction andtothefour
form3 ofcopper onthebasis oftheir copper content ;this would avoid
discrimination resulting from thedifferent sizes ofthevarious
participants *metal manufacturing andrefining industries inrelation
totheir exports *Resorting toappropriate measures should beadmissible
toprevent semi–finished products beooming awayofgetting round copper
supply rules .

12.
Astostockingandde-stocking operations,agreementmanagement
"bodiesshouldofcoursebeenabledtotakeorinduceeffectiveaction
tomaintainthereferenceprices,particularly thefloorprice.The
Communitywouldhoweverfavouravoiding,atanyrateinthepresent
circumstances ,theinternational financingofstock-piling measures;
thenecessarydisciplineofstockmovementsshould "beachievedby
appropriatecoordination ofactionbytheparticipants intheagreement.
Inthesegeneralterms,itwouldhoweverbepossibletoacceptthe
inclusionintheagreementofareferencetotheparametersoftrade
cyclesituationsinwhichitwouldbeagreedattheoutsetthatthe
constitution ofaninternational stockcouldbereexamined.Thisstock
shouldbeable,giventhetotalvolumeofstockstobedisciplined (say
1500000tinaperiodwhenthemarketwasreturningtowardsequilibrium),
toactasthefirstlineofdefenceforthereferenceprices,onthe
understanding thatcoordinatedactionbytheparticipants wouldinar.y'
eventstillbetheprincipalmeansofexertingdisciplineoverstock
movements.
Inrelationtobothexportdisciplineandstock-piling policy,
accountwillhavetobetakenofthespecialsituationofcertain
countries-which arefewinnumberanyway-whose exportearningsaremainly
derivedfromcopperandwhoplayanimportantroleintheworldtradein
thisproduct.Itwillthereforebenecessarytoseekappropriate
solutionswithregardtothesecountries-eventuallyevenoutsidethe
agreement-sothatthemeasurestobeimplemented donotplaceanexcessive
burdenontheireconomies.
Lastly,itmustbestressedthat,inthespiritoftheseproposals,
alltheparametersrelatingtothemeasures,exportquotas,reference
prices,volumeofstock-piling operations,wouldbeundercontinuous
surveillance ,anditshouldbepossibletoadjustthematfrequent
intervals,pastexperiencehavingshownthatanabout-turninthecopper
marketsituationcanoccurinafewmonthsonly.
TheexperienceofCIPEChasdemonstrated thedifficulties thatare
experienced withanorganization thatconsistsonlyofproducers.In
seekingwaysofarrivingatdecisionsandrecommendations itwilltherefore
benecessarytoseektoestablishabalancebetweentheinterestsof
producersandthoseofconsumers.

13.
Conclusion
TheseproposalscoveronlythemajorguidelinesforaComrrunity
positiononapossibleinternational copperagreement.Subsequent
proposalsfromtheCommissionwillsupplementthemasar.dwhenpossible
andnecessary.Itshould,however,beunderstoodthattheseproposals
alreadyrepresentintheCommission' sviewaframeworktowhichthe
appropriatedetailsshouldbeadded,butwhichcannotbeenlarged
appreciablywithouttheCommunity'sinterestsbeingjeopardized.