Separate fight can only lead

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Latin America. has already been stunted by these arm twisting methods. And the British government, which has rejected the reactionary nationalist demand for import controls which comes from the. Labour Lefts and the CP, has instead wrested 'voluntary' limitations from Hong Kong and Japan of exports of such products as TVs and cars.

The capitalist states are increasingly throwing around accusations against each other (and against the workers' states) of 'dumping' (selling goods below the cost of production).

Committees of the United States Congress are at present investigating accusations of dumping and demands for protection based on that and other grounds against goods which acount for two thirds of the exports of the EEC to the US.

This trade war was highlighted in different ways this was the announcement of the half yearly financial figure for the British Steel Corporation. The loss for six months amounted to over £200 million or nearly £13 second!

At the same time the Bethlehem Steel Company in the US, which is similar in scale of production to BSC, announced losses which were almost double this.

Dumped

Both British and American producers blame the situation on cheap 'dumped' imports from Japan and are threatening to step up protection against Japanese steel.

The capitalists' answer to the crisis of the steel industry - which is part of the crisis of the whole capitalist economic system-is to bargain with each other about whether it should be Japanese, American or European workers that are forced to bear the bulk of the costs.

failure The size of this year's NUS Women's Conference was an indication of the weakness of the womens' campaign and the refusal of the Broad Left leadership to take womens' issues seriously-only about 150 delegates and activists turned up.

There were discussions on important issues like women in Northern Ireland; lesbian parents; sexism in education; and rape.

But these debates were overshadowed by the two demands which have dominated the womens' conference for the past 3 years: for greater status and for autonomy.

Any decisions taken remain totally useless while the Womens' Conference is purely advisory, and white its resolutions are not discussed at national NUS Conference.

All motions passed at womens' conference which conflict with NUS policy should be automatically given priority for discussion at the national policy-making conference.

Without that status, the NUS Womens' Conference will remain a token gesture from the Broad Left-dominated executive.

Closed

Over the past 3 years, the NUS Womens' Confere nce