Orders of the Day — Steel Industry

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 25 January 1979.

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Photo of Miss Joan Maynard Miss Joan Maynard , Sheffield, Brightside 12:00, 25 January 1979

I support the amendment. Commission document R/1135/78 shows that our steel industry would be further eroded by the EEC, particularly as regards investment and jobs.

On too many occasions when we discuss the EEC, we talk about the common agricultural policy. That is understandable, because probably the effects of the CAP are more obvious to the general public and all of us. However, what is going on behind the scenes in relation to our industry, particularly our manufacturing industry, and what that will mean for Britain in future are even more serious. For every £1 invested in Britain, £5 is invested in the EEC. I ask the House to consider what effect that will have on our industry in years to come. It is one of the consequences of the free flow of capital arising from our membership of the Common Market. If investment is affected in this way, so will jobs and modernisation be affected.

Our steel industry faces a world recession. In addition, it has to withstand the effects of our membership of the EEC. Document R/1135/78 could have a major effect on the British Steel Corporation's investment plans and on the steel industry, public and private.

I want to say a few words about the effects of imports on the special steels industry, which is, in the main, in the private sector, though there is public investment there too. The import penetration has been dramatic. Over the past 18 months about 3,000 direct jobs have been lost because of imports. These imports have come from within the EEC. I could give examples covering all the years from 1973 to 1978, but in the interests of brevity I shall confine myself to mentioning figures for 1973 and 1978 of tool steel, stainless bar and high-speed steel bar.

In 1973, import penetration in all those categories was 12 per cent. or less. In 1978, import penetration in tool steel was 56·5 per cent., in stainless bar 80 per cent. and in high-speed steel bar 30·5 per cent. However, Opposition Members talk about the protection of the market. If that is protection, I do not understand the meaning of the word.

The hon. Member for Flint, West (Sir A. Meyer) says that we shall not be able to sustain our steel industry. Obviously, we shall not be able to sustain it against the import penetration that I have described.

A further effect of import penetration is a much reduced capital investment programme for the industry. Running alongside that is continued rationalisation. That is taking place under the fabricated conditions that have been created. The purpose of the Common Market is to help the multinationals. It is certainly doing that. It is doing so at the expense of our steel industry.

A bonanza is taking place and the people of Sheffield are suffering as a result. When a delegation from Sheffield met Ministers of the Departments of Trade and Industry to draw their attention to the deterioration of its part of the steel industry, their answer was that little could be done because of the provisions of the Treaty of Rome. They said that they could not impose import controls because the United Kingdom would be taken to court.

The Government should introduce import controls. They should let the EEC take us to court. America has placed tight controls on imports. We have suffered because imports are entering Britain that would have gone to the United States. It is not merely import penetration; in some instances it is dumping.

One of the most positive suggestions offered to the delegation from Sheffield was for it to compile a report specifying the shape and size of the investment needed for the special steel sector. That is the investment that the delegation thinks is needed to sustain our home market and the proportion of the international market that our industry has previously supplied. It supplies our aerospace, power generation and chemical industries along with other high technology industries. The Labour movement in Sheffield would like to see a National Enterprise Board interest in the special steel industry—in other words, a public interest in that important part of the industry.

The compiling of the report that was asked of the delegation is proceeding with the assistance of the local authorities in the area. If the ideas and projections in the report are found to be sound and viable and capable of being acted upon, inevitably major investment will be required. The investment for reorganising and re-equipping a major part of the industry where a world lead is evident could be seriously affected by the introduction of document No. R/1135/78.

The steel industry is controlled not merely by the Paris treaty. A major part of the industry—most of the special steel sector—comes within the Treaty of Rome. How far is the plan for steel in document No. R/1135/78 to extend? The amendment tries to safeguard the position. It asks for the minimum future investment in a vital industry and the safeguarding of jobs within the industry, which is equally important.