based on Guardian repert
@ Economic Commission of tho Common HMarkot estimates that the agsre= gate national product of the six momber countries has increased by 4% this year, The commission's oconcmists forecast a sinilar rate of growth for 1964, Thue, the Community os a whole has settled cdewn to a paca of expansion no frenter than this ccuntry ise hoping: to maintain over the noxt fow yenrs, ~ anmial rate has been declinan: from 7.1%-in 1960 to 5.2% in 1961, 42% in 1962, and an estimated 4% in 1963,
However, prospects for tho eixz nenter: countries ore uneven, “hile Vest Gormany appears to. haye come through a-poriod cof acute wage inflation one financisl instability without lasting damage, France and Italy heave not yet conquered their inflationary tables. (Sd. note: these two Ilntter cour ries have bsen, in the mnin, responsible for the big rise in Dritish exports to the Six). The commission says, in fact, that rising prices in Franco and Italy mist bo checked if the Commmity's economies are toe bo kept in haraomr,
The £860 st Of Excess Capacity In The Steel Industry.
This article is based upon information from "The Economist! of December the 7th. Between 1955 and 1962, production of crude stael throughout the world increased from 240 Million tons a year.to 370. Million tons, an increase whici lagged behind investment in new capacit Vs which increased from 250 Million to 445 Million tons 4 year. This massive increase in capacity, a rate. of 6.4% a year, has far outstripped demand for Soest, which haa-been increasing throughout the world at the more seemly rate of 5%. Producers are. therefore faced with a surplus of capacity over fdemend, which has increased from 7% to 18% of capacity. Such averages only give an indication of the situation, since the problem of excess capacity has occurred entirely in traditional exporting countries. 10 years ago, there were major producing ereas who supplied the world's steel trade, and normally imported only a small proportion of their total requirements. These major producing areas were the U.S.A. the European Coal and Steel Community, the Soviet Union, and the United Kine- * dom. Other countries had small steel industries, but none of them were exporters. But a deep change has taken places Last year, a third of the steel capacity in the United States was lying idle. The-European Coal and Steel Community countries were better off, with only 11% of their capacity idle, while plant in Britain was 29% unused. One major reason for excess capacity in the traditional exporting countries has been the fact that production in the hitherto importing countries hes increased by more than 4 times. Therefore the total steel imports of these latter countries haa increased by only a relatively small amount, mowhere néar enough to take up the amount potentially available for export from the traditional exporting countries (the difference between capacity end internal demand). One of the most important expansions in production on the pert of ‘ a formerly importing country, has taken place in Japan. Its capacity has increased by 4 times, and its exports have increased in the same proportion. This greater volume of exports, unable to find markets in the traditionally importing countries, has been diverted back to the traditionally exporting countries. The increased imports entering the traditionally exporting countries from countries like Japan has added greatly to the pressure upori the exporters! own domestic markets, thus aggravating their problems of excess capacity. The result of these extra pressures can be seen in the following prices , realised for steel in the European Coal and Steel Community. Between the F first quarter of 1960, and the first quarter of 1963 export prices for hot rolled sheet declined from $160 to $100 2 ‘ton; for medium end heavy pletes from #110 to $90. Average import prices have @eclined from is a ton in 1961 to $118 a ton in the first five months of 1963. The above figures mean a falling rate of profit for the aac’ bosses in the U.5.A. and in Western Europe, and it ia against this background that the bitter equabblie between different vested intcrests in the B.E.C. countries, which hes been taking place during the last fewwookr, should be seen; for this squabble to a grent extent, is about whether the external tariff should or should net be inereased, and if so, by hor much. Or to put it another way- How far should the E.E.C. go in its efforts to minimise the threat of forcign competition. In Britain, the situation is being manifested very clearly by the determined resistance of the Steel Comnany of Veles to eny major wage increase, because they know that with the present merket situation, 2 large increase could not be passed «<M to ‘consumers in the form of higher prices. In a long term senSe, the world steel crisis denonstretes the inability of the bourgeoisie to plan and integrate their economies on an internationel basis.
Robailding Dritain Public Speaking Chins Fights Dack “hppeasouentt s Child Froduction for Feople if6 the Sovict Hlission +o Mescow 2 vol, “Now Moasonor No. 4. of Zmorican Testanent foret 3. Macdonald 5 DuttbGsssene
Tonduct 2
PSaucation iroc Tinys
tlor the Fawn
Soyict Union Yearbook frinciples of Folitical i iconony ‘The 2nd 5-year plan _frogromme for Progress ‘rooeralien or Socialign What. are we to do? Coming strugzle for Fower " ft YWeward the Light ' imerica. over TIritain Vogzelor/Sandors trial Mirror of the Past Yar ond Domocracy
“y to take the Chair ‘Coumnist Raueation Communism and Scciety writain in the world front PF,
for a Democratic
Tritein Ww Iritein is governed Glass and Society ericl Preference ecret of Tigh Wages Gonrados & Citizens an ffiglishwoman in USSR Who are the Patriots iiussia, Finland. cscsese
Beha
J.8, Mill
Wars Coates
J. Strachey
ci]
Lewis Zarens
Fa To lsover
EK. Zilliacua
de Greonwood
et al
GeD, Singn
ite Acland
A. Snedley
T.! . Honilton
FP. Varulan
Tublisher
Mrs, Chesterton Chapman
J, Freeman
Js. tneDPonald George Allen
We Paul
Je Rige
i |
Kalinin
W. Paul
Dutt
Krupskaya
Lunacharski
G.D.H, Cole
R, Crosesman
Eurt Mayer
hh, Clden
ite. Russell
Austin & Llcyd Fisher Unwin
Seema KR Lilian
V. Lansbury
Foot & Truce
Wé& 2 Contes Nationaliza ation of Railways 4. BE. Davies Dlack faw Metorials Or | Materials
ie Flummoer werd from Liberalian Stephen Spender L.23.C,. Cripps A 4 Vindow in Moscow Common Secondary School
Fa Taylor
foe Jacob
B. Simon '#inoanciers and the Nation T,Johnston esdom Road
BH. Fast wt the, in lt ee
= = a => =
Date Price Sane, Tenarks
Gaorgo .illen 1927 16/— T/=
Longmans 1866 15/— 1/— Fairly Good
lietheun 193% «2/6 Ta
LDCs 1940 3/- 7d
wo 1940 2/6 Td
nonin 1938 3/- &d Spina damaged
Gollancz 1933 15/— iia
Sonnonschein 1903 2/6 94
L& W 1953 2/— 54
Bungarian SPH 1950 3/- 7a (Show Trial.)
Lebel 1944 2/6 ‘Ta
Macmillan 1915 7/6 8a
LDCs 1945 2/6 Ta
LDC. 1945 2/6 6d
Lele s 1943 2/6 7d Franco Spain
L.D.0. 1940 2/6 Ta
1942 2/- 6a
i.o.C. 1942 5/—- 108
- 1958 1/6 4a
LDC. 1938 4/- i/fld
1924 2/6 8a EF. Pago loose
S.L.F. Presa 19177 10/- 8a Fairly good
Goorge .illen 1955 1/6 4d
" " 1955 1/6 —_-4a
F.L.F.H. 1950 2/6 8a
C.r.0.D. 1922 7/6 6d Poper cover
International Pub 1943 5/— 104
F.L.F.2, 1957 2/6 8a
loutledga 1923 7/6 104
Bh. 1939 2/6 8a
Lid.S. 1939 2/- 54
Deubleday 1955 1/6 64 88p, pamphlet
5 AR 1936 4/- 1/- arly biography
Empire Economic
Union 1947 4/- 9a
1926 2/6 8a
L.D.C. 1938 2/6 ga
Putman 1940 5/- 1/24
Gollancz 1949 1/6 5d
L& W 1940 2/6 5d Paper covers
1908 7/6 6d
Lele. 1937 2/6 5a
1937 4/- 8a
Ilarreap 1942 5/- 64 Early biography
Collins 1946 5/— 10a Almost cs now
L&W 1955 4/- Td " w
Motheun 1934 5/—- 104 Vary Good
Tedley Head 1946 2/6 6d Fairly Geod
Jugeslavija 1958 5/- 94 As new 272pp.
WARNING
Last September the NATO countries put on an exercise,
Fallex 62, to discover what will — ic the Sd pln geosucl
war, They got such disastrous results that they dared not even
Salt PatBeunint. Pes Geils wane teusllad carret—aneret hen
us, the ‘casualties’.
On 14th-17th November a similar exercise, Fall x 63, will be
it on to tell what wot ould happen in Britain. This time every-
op aber Rood eh acl epul hoSa aet