EC MINISTERS ANNOUNCE PLAN FOR STEEL CLOSURES

  European Community (EC) industry
  ministers agreed on a plan for voluntary steel plant closures,
  drawn up by industry lobby group Eurofer, and calculated to
  lead to the loss of about 22,000 jobs.
      The ministers resolved that the proposed closures, which
  should bring production capacity more in line with weak demand,
  "remain considerably below the surplus in capacity."
      They asked the EC Executive Commission to consult with
  Eurofer, major steel companies and with governments, to
  pinpoint scope for further capacity reductions beyond the
  annual 15.26 mln tonnes identified by Eurofer.
      The Commission will draw up a new system  of steel
  production quotas to protect vulnerable EC firms from the full
  rigors of open competition.
      Commission sources said any new system would cover only
  heavy products representing about 45 pct of the market, instead
  of 65 pct under the present system.
      Ministers hope to approve a closure program when they meet
  again in Brussels on June 1, the sources said.
      Industry Commissioner Karl-Heinz Narjes told ministers
  capacity was 30 mln tonnes in excess of requirements and that
  this excess ought to be eliminated by the end of 1990.
  

