RUSSIA TO ASSUME ITS ATTITUDE TO STEEL TRADE WITH EU BY LATE MARCH








MOSCOW, March 11, 2001. /RIA Novosti correspondent/. Russia plans to formulate its final stance on steel trade with the EU by the end of this March, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Maxim Medvedkov said in a statement.


	He said that Russia and the EU are continually holding consultations on steel at various levels. On March 30, the issue will be negotiated in Moscow with EU Commissioner Pascal Lamy.


	The disagreement between Russia and the EU over the steel issue has resulted from the European Commission's decision made last January to extend for another year the 12-percent quota limiting Russian steel export to the European market. The EU maintains that measure as taken in response to Russia's imposing 15-percent export duties on scrap iron in 1999. With limiting quotas taken into account, Russia can ship some 820,000 tonnes of metal to the EU in 2001.