ABSTRACT
The Italian steel industry was a much smaller operation, based mainly on open hearth and electric steel, making but little blast furnace steel, and unable as a result to supply the domestic market with bulk commercial steel products, especially those best manufactured in Thomas converters. The international scene also proved extremely favourable to the Italian steel plans. This was essentially because the former leadership of the European steel cartel was in tatters: Germany’s heavy industry was in a state of temporary collapse and the French were putting all their efforts into increasing their steel capacity. During the negotiations leading to the European Coal and Steel Community however, the Schuman Plan was fundamentally reshaped by a number of compromises between the states and the industries involved. The British steel industry also shared with continental producers the position of being a leading world steel exporter.
