It was stated that it was hoped it would be possible to sign these agreements in the afternoon.

(8) Hoop and strip and (9) tube strip: M. Brichant reported that little progress had apparently been made with regard to a hoop and strip agreement. The cartel had always understood that hoops and strip would be the subject of one agreement for all classes of hoop and strip, whereas the British group desired three agreements because different makers were interested in different products. The British group also required cold-rolled hoops and strips to be controlled, but this was impossible, as the cartel could not impose its will on Holland. Scandinavia, and other countries. The most important difficulty, however, was the request of the British group that exports of tube strip to the tube works of British makers in the British dominions should be outside the quota. The British quota for tube strip was about 51% percent.

Sir Andrew Duncan stated that it was clear from the general agreement that there should be a separate agreement for sube strip, for it was one of the 12 categories enumerated in article III in respect of which sectional export agreements were to be concluded; the British group did not desire more than two categories.

M. Meyer stated that the continent had never understood the position to be as outlined by the chairman. The fact that hoop and strip was divided into two categories in the agreement signed on the 31st of July last, did not, to his mind, conclusively prove that it should be the subject of two separate agreements, Had the continent appreciated the significance which Sir Andrew now attached to the division, they would have protested at an earlier stage that two separate agreements were impracticable. While, in his opinion, there should be one agreement, Great Britain might divide her quota into two,

Sir Andrew stated that he had no objection to there being one agreement provided there were two distinct quotas for tube strip and other hoop and strip, respectively. M. Meyer regretted that he saw no possibility of being able to divide these products as far as the continent was concerned, although there was no objection to the British dividing their quota into two categories, M. Meyer admitted that part of the difficulty was due to the fear that the demand for tube strip would decline and, as the decrease was likely to occur in the product in which the continental quota was greater, there would be no possibility of compensation. He thought regard ought to be had to the fact that the continent had already had to agree to a very heavy restriction of imports of tube strip into the United Kingdom-a restriction much greater than in other products. To insist on two agreements for the export of strip could only involve the continent in still further loss.

Sir Andrew Duncan answered that the import agreement must now stand on its own feet; the continent could hardly expect the British to assist the continental makers to regain in export markets what they had lost in Britain's home market. The exports of tube strip and other hoop and strip from Great Britain and from the cartel countries were stated to be as follows:

It was pointed out that, if there were two quotas and the exports of tube strip declined to zero, the Continent would lose 62,500 tons and the British only 3,700 tons whereas, if there were one quota, the cartel would lose 55,500 tons and the British 10,700 tons. Dr. Poensgen pointed out that, whereas most of the decline in exports would fall on the Continent, most of the gain would accrue to the British because, while the export of tube strip was declining, the export of strip other than tube strip was increasing. Further, it was impossible to have two separate comptoirs, because on the Continent the strip mills rolled strip both for tubes and for other purposes.

Sir Andrew Duncan maintained that the question of compensation for declining tube-strip exports was a matter of the Continent's internal adjustment; it was clearly not impossible to divide the exports of strip between tube strip and other.

M. Meyer accepted that the British had always contemplated two separate agreements, but on the other hand the Continent had always contemplated one; there had been a genuine misunderstanding, and the position was one for mutual compromise. If the British had any proposals to suggest, they would be glad to consider them. It was agreed to resume discussion of this question and of that of the associated works at a later stage, after each side had had an opportunity of considering the matters separately.

At the resumed discussion later in the day, M. Meyer suggested that there should be separate quotas for tube strip and other hoop and strip, and that at the end of the year a calculation should be made in two ways: (a) on the basis of one quota; (b) on the basis of two. If the calculation showed that the EIA had lost tonnage because there were two quotas, the cartel should be allowed to make good this loss by exporting to the United Kingdom sheet bars at the rate of 1,500 tons of sheet bars to every 1,000 tons of strip in deficiency. He explained that this suggestion was made because some strip mills were capable of rolling sheet bars; while it did not require 1,500 tons of sheet bars to produce 1,000 tons of strip, the labor required to produce sheet bars was so much less than that involved in producing strip that they were justified in suggesting the ratio of 1,500 to 1,000 tons. They were willing to limit the amount of the deficiency to 10,000 tons of tube strip or an equivalent of 15,000 tons of sheet bars. Asked by Sir Andrew Duncan on what grounds it was claimed that Great Britain should surrender any tonnage of other hoop and strip in order to make good any deficiency in tube strip, M. Meyer stated that because of the genuine misunderstanding it was necessary to find a compromise. Dr. Poensgen again emphasized that the case was one for special consideration, since in no product had the cartel been treated so severely as in tube strip. Sir Andrew pointed out that, if M. Meyer's suggestion were carried out, the compensation would have to be borne by the makers of sheet bars, and it was difficult to justify a sacrifice on their part to compensate for the Continent's loss on tube strip.

The question was again considered by each side separately, after which Sir Andrew Duncan expressed regret that it was impossible to agree to M. Meyer's suggestion. By every consideration the British group was entitled to insist on the two quotas. Although the Continent feared that there would be a decline in the export of tube strip, nobody could say that this would in fact take place. He hoped that M. Meyer would see his way not to press the proposition. He emphasized the desirability of withdrawing the proposal because of the analogy with plates. If the cartel insisted on a single quota for all classes of strip, the British had an equal right to insist on heavy, medium, and light plates in categories 5, 6, and 7 being treated in the same way, a claim which the cartel had resisted in the discussion on plates that very day.

On the subject of Mr. MacDiarmid's reservation of the right to supply his own works, M. Brichant thought that the difficulty was largely due to fears on the part of Mr. MacDiarmid that he might not get a suitable quality and a fair price and stated that the cartel had offered to supply tube strip to Mr. MacDiarmid's works in the dominions at the average prices fixed for all other markets except one particular market where severe competition was being felt. Mr. MacDiarmid expressed himself as content to purchase from the Continent so long as he had the right to appeal to the coordinating committee if he were not satisfied on the question either of price or of quality. It was agreed that an appeal on the question was open to the coordinating committee at any time. Cold-rolled strip

It was explained that the difficulty in controlling cold-rolled strip on the Continent was that it was a product which, in Germany at any rate, could be made in any machine shop. It was being made by a number of different small makers, and all attempts to get them together had failed. Sir Andrew Duncan stated that the British group would expect the question to be dealt with as soon as practicable.

Mr. Wesson pointed out that the cold-rolled material was being imported from the Continent and competing with our product, and Sir Andrew stated that steps would have to be taken to stop it. On the question of tonnage Mr. Elliot stated that the cartel had satisfied him that the tonnages allocated to hoop and strip included cold-rolled strip were not in excess of tonnage of hot-rolled strip which they exported to Great Britain in 1934. In reply to Mr. Wesson, Sir Andrew Duncan stated that this matter might again be taken up with the federation.

(10) Wire rods: Mr. Brichant reported that in the discussions the previous day, the British had suggested that as their quota was so low an agreement on a quota basis might be dispensed with in favor of an agreement on price. Alternatively that if the British were in excess, the Continent might be allowed to import into this country a tonnage of wire rods similar to that by which the British were in excess. This would be to the advantage of Great Britain since the exports would be in a rod of a higher price than the rods imported to Great Britain. M. Brichant understood that the chairman of the wire rod association was referring the matter to his members. It was therefore agreed to defer further consideation of wire rods until the meeting on July 17.

IWECO products.-No representative of IWECO was present at the meeting, but M. Dieudonné stated that the cartel had received a letter referring to a meeting which had taken place on the 23d June at which it was alleged Sir Peter Rylands had maintained that the British wire manufacturers were not under an obligation to make an export agreement. The chairman stated that there must be some misunderstanding on this question, since from the information in his possession, the IWECO discussions appeared to have made good progress. Sir Peter Rylands stated that there would be a further meeting on Tuesday next, and the chairman stated that he would expect a report from IWECO and the British group in time for the next meeting of the joint coordinating committee on the 17th of July.

(11) Tinplates: Sir William Firth reported that a further meeting of the tinplate cartel was to be held on the 8th of July, when he hoped that outstanding questions would be settled.

(12) Sheets: It was reported that the converted figures for galvanized sheets were now available, and had been translated into the proposals made on the 19th of May. Quotas had been worked out on that basis, and the information available for discussion by the coordinating committee. It was agreed to discuss the sheet position after the remaining items in the agenda had been dealt with.

6. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA

The chairman reported that on their recent visit to the United States, the British delegation consisting of Lord Dudley, Mr. Elliot, and himself had two interesting meetings with the Americans and conveyed to them the greetings of the cartel. The Americans had stated that they had pleasant recollections of the visit some years ago, of M. Meyer and Dr. Poensgen. The position with regard to imports was still, however, as the continental delegation had found it. The American Government was not helpful to industry, and the industrialists would incriminate themselves if they entered into a discussion with the object of restricting imports. On the other hand, it was clearly unlikely that they would be prepared to discuss control of exports unless there was some voluntary suggestion of restriction of imports. There was no doubt that the Americans were sympathetic to the arrangements come to between Britain and the cartel. Sir Andrew had left with the Americans a copy of the cartel agreement, and of the South African agreement. There was a likelihood of representatives from the States being in this country either officially or unofficially in the early autumn, and one leading representative probably earlier, and Sir Andrew suggested that it would be an advantage if it were possible for M. Meyer and one or two other cartel representatives to meet him at the same time.

M. Meyer thanked the British representatives for their efforts in the States and Mr. Elliot added that, as a result of the visit it had been possible to arrange for cooperation on prices of certain products without commitment, and the Americans had agreed that Great Britain or the cartel might make mutual proposals for ameliorating competition.

7. CANADA

Sir Andrew reported that the deputation had also met representatives from the Steel Co. of Canada; the Dominion Iron & Steel Co.; and Dominion Foundries. It was explained to the Canadians that, prior to joining the cartel, the British makers were feeling that the Ottawa agreement was operating inequitably and that, but for the arrangements made with the Continent, approaches would have been made to the British Government with a view to its revision at the earliest opportunity. The question of Canadian competition, however, affected also our continental friends, and it had been made clear to the Canadians that any arrangements which might be made must take cognizance of this fact.

96347-50-ser. 14, pt. 4b-17

It was hoped that it would be possible to continue the discussions in the current month, but Sir Andrew promised that the cartel would be kept advised regarding the discussions and no arrangements would be made which could in any sense conflict with the arrangements made with the cartel.

8. SOUTH AFRICA

Sir Andrew Duncan reported that Dr. van der Bijl had written stating that the necessary legislation had been passed to enable the South Africans to implement the draft agreement already arrived at, and that he was arriving in England on July 13 for the purpose of signing the final agreement. M. Meyer referred to the fact that in Dr. van der Bijl's letter, reference was made to the fixation of minimum prices, but if these minimum prices applied to all countries there was no preference in favor of Britain and the cartel. Sir Andrew Duncan stated that as he understood it, the arrangements made were for the purpose of implementing the agreement, and the agreement definitely gave preference to Britain and the cartel. He thought therefore there must be machinery, not disclosed in the act, for this purpose, and suggested waiting for Dr. van der Bijl's visit before discussing the matter further. It was agreed to meet Dr. van der Bijl on the 17th of July.

9. JAPAN

Mr. Elliot referred to reports of the visit of M. Nivard to Japan and M. Meyer stated that M. Nivard was merely carrying out investigations on behalf of the cartel and had been given no authority to enter into any binding agreement. No agreement would be entered into without consultation with the British.

10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

It was agreed that the next meeting should be held on July 17.

EXHIBIT S-109

COMPTE-RENDU DE LA RÉUNION DE LA COMMISSION DES COMPTOIRS TENU À PARIS LE 23.11.1937

Etaient présents:

Pour le Group allemand: MM. Lamarche, Maulick, Schwede, Scheer-Hennings, Kuhn.

Poul le Groupe belge: Tonneau, Brichant, Francken, Dupuis, Claes, Hirt, Gaudin.

Pour le Groupe britannique: Elliot, Malcolm, Capt. Read, H. Craig, Tubman. Pour le Groupe français: de Mitry, Goldberger, Truchy, Pucheu, Sénéchal, Pasteels, Monfort, Boulard.

Pour le Group luxembourgeois: Dieudonné, Gosselin, Noesen, Goedert, Conradt.

Pour le Groupe polonais: Dembinski, Kraszewski.

Pour le Groupe tchécoslovaque: Krulis-Randa, Lepercq, Czeike, Steiner, Tille, Pavlousek, Mares, Hexner, Dub.

Pour le Bureau de l'E. I. A. :

Luxembourg: MM. Michaelis, Conrot.

Londres: M. Dubar.

Presidence: M. Dieudonne.

APPROBATION DU PROCES-VERBAL DE LA SÉANCE DU 8 SEPTEMBRE

Ce compte-rendu est approuvé, compte tenu de l'observation qui y avait été formulée par le Groupe allemand en ce qui concerne les imputations d'office qui lui ont été appliquées pour les tonnages anglais.

QUESTIONS ANGLAISES

(a) Contingent supplémentaire de demi-produits pour le 1er trimestre 1938. Un nouveau contingent supplémentaire de demi-produits Thomas sera livré par les Groupes continetaux au cours du 1er trimestre 1938, au prix ordinaire du marché britannique, la B. I. S. C. recevant la commission contractuelle

appütuée au contingent normal Le tonnage de ce contingent est fixé à Tower mais le groupe britannique se réserve une option sur un second tonnage de TT Mot, cette option devra être levée pour moitié d'ici an 1o janvier et pour mote an 51 janvier.

(b) Allocation à plusieurs concessionnaires de tonnages destinés à un seul client I est entrado que IE. LA. fera tout son possible pour réduire au minimum les inconvenients qui résultent de la division des tonnages entre concessionnaires à laquelle ut est diligé de procéder dans les pools.

(e) Contrôle des importations des transformateurs beiges

La Fédération se paint de ce que les transfirmateurs belges ne respectent pas les pains cavezes et rendent en Grande-Bretagne en dehors de tout controle. Eve Esiste par qu'aamse bicence ne soit délivrée s'il n'y a pas accord avec la Corporation sur les tanges et les prix. Mr. ELLIOT fait observer que l'Entente a ele aime le plus grand intérêt au maitien de la discipline sur le marché britanniqze, en égard notamment à la question des droits de douane, qui se posera

MM. ITETIONNE & HIRT exposent comment se présente la situation sur le Continent. Le Groupe belge a cuddlu des accords avec tous les transformateurs, sauf dex. d. 23 en fabrique exclusivement du fer. Le droit de ces transformateurs, in les dans le contingent du Continent, est de 17.000 t. environ par an, dont 6,000 t. de fer. M HIT promet de faire pression sur tous les intéressés, en vue de les alecer à la discipline & mmune. Sis n'y consentent pas, il leur refusera lattribution de drences, mais M. Hirt fait observer que Cosibel ne pourrait pas, dans ce cas, prendre la responsabilité des importations que les transformateurs et gestija efectueralent en dehors du système des licences, c'est à dire sous je rezite da frolt général de 12. Il demande à Mr. Elliot de lui communiquer les prix et conditions de vente de l'Association du fer No. 3 et 4, de façon à posvord *enter St. Eloi.

Et ce qui extcerne la emmission de la B. I. S. C. il est entendu que les transformateurs aurci à la payer sur tous les tonnages qu'ils importent en GrandeBretuzte, de jo même façon que les membres ordinaires de lE. I. A. Tenant compte des diffenités de Cosibel, Mr. Elliott renonce au versement d'une commiss, a sur les tonnages importés au cours des exercices précédents, c. à. d. avant le Saoût 1937.

(d). Importations de barres étirées (bright bars)

LE I. A. n'a aucun echtrôle sur ces importations, qui sont effectuées par des usines dissidentes. Mr. Elliot en prend note. Il se réserve en conséquence de pred tre toutes les mesures utiles pour mettre fin à situation actuelle.

tė). Commission de la B. I. S. C. sur les importations de tôles fines

La es mission de la Corporation est fixée à 2 - p. t.

En ce qui concerne les produits IWECO, Mr. Elliot demande à l'E. I. A. d'aider la B. I. S. C. à obtenir le paiement de la commission qui lui revient. M. DiruDONNE promet de faire une démarche auprès de l'IWECO.

(f) Livraisons à Glencairn.

M. For déclare qu'il est possible qu'une fourniture de largets pour éclissage dive être faite à Glencairn, qui a un droit correspondant en période de référence. En ce qui concerne les poutrelles pour Glencairn, la Fédération est d'avis qu'une marge par rapport au prix britannique ne se justifie plus et que le Continent devrait vendre au prix plein. MM. PUCHEU & DIEUDONNE répondent que le Continent désire évidemment obtenir le meilleur prix possible. Cette question sera régiée par conversations directes entre les intéressés.

(9) Marchands anglais

A la demande de Mr. Elliot, Mr. DIEUDONNE précise que la position de l'E. I. A. dans la question des marchands est toujours la même. Elle s'en tient stricteement aux textes. En d'autres termes, elle ne peut accepter de donner aux marchands les tonnages qu'ils ont perdus par suite de la disparition de certains tonnages qui allaient autrefois à des stockistes. Il fait pourtant observer que, dans un esprit de conciliation, le groupe belge et Columeta ont accepté de céder aux marchands un certain tonnage supplémentaire de profilés.

(A) Spécifications chinoises

Les Pool des Aciers Marchands est autorisé à rechercher le placement en Grande-Bretagne des spécifications enregistrées par le Comptoir pour le Chine