[In the history of the resent capitalist crisis…]

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In the history of the resent capitalist crisis 177 will go down as the ear in which the protecionist skirmishes of the ist few years began to ike the form of a full cale.war. ! At the centre of this war ras steel with the deeply mprofitable steel industries • Western Europe and the ISA erecting a system of wiffs and import controls, holuntary' and compulsory.

These are directed especilly against imports from lapan but also against those rom other sources.

: Provisional system The EEC ended 1977 by ntroducing a new provisional ystem of "trigger" prices for ¡eel which would prevent imports from underselling BEC products.

While this system is in operation the EEC Commission is charged with negotiating 'voluntary' agreements to limit steel exports to the EEC from Japan, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Sweden, Brazil, South Korea and South Africa.

'Voluntary' agreements Meanwhile the British government has been trying to negotiate its own independent import control agreements with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries.

On December 3l Trade Minister Edmund Dell revealed just what these 'voluntary' agreements mean.

When, unlike other East European countries, the Soviet Union failed to give 'satisfactory assurances' about limiting its steel exports to Britain, Dell imposed a total embargo on all imports of Soviet steel.

The significance of this move is infinitely greater the tiny quantities of steel involved.

Dell's move is probably the most nakedly protectionist action yet taken, by any capitalist government.

It is now expected that the Soviet Union Will retaliate and so the trade war will receive a new boost from an unexpected quarter: hnev appears to have for fran дт11 ... innirm appeals w. are worn out cliches an more hectoring of the work ing class The economic, wisdom of Brezhner consisted in saying sectors where, with concrete 'Choosing concrete mum of expense, one can rap: idly get the maximum possible effect; that is the art of planning and of guiding the economy in general.' He also declared with near-blinding originality, that the solution was 'the rational use of economic resources"

When it doesn't know what to do the Stalinist bureaucracy still has its old answer-blame the workers.

So Brezhnev spoke harshly of:

'violations' of plan discipline tolerated by some leaders' and demanded:

order and discipline in all spheres of economic activity ... Work today better than yesterday and better tomorroW than today, that is the