J. L. S. Steel

J. L. S. Steel (businessman)
Nationality	British
Chairman of the British International Chamber of Commerce, attended of February 1957, 1958 and 1960 Bilderbergs

John L. S. Steel was chairman of the British International Chamber of Commerce. He attended several Bilderberg meetings, discussing the European common market.

Career

Steel was associated with Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) since 1922. He was appointed to the Board in 1945, after holding directorships in various divisions of ICI.

As of 1958, Steel was also Chairman of the British National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, a position he has held since 1951, and Chairman of the Overseas Trade Policy Committee of the Federation of British Industries, a position he held since 1950.

1958 Bilderberg

A 2014 thesis by R. Geven, Transnational networks and the common market : business views on European integration, 1950-1980, touched upon the Bilderberg negotiation J.L.S Steel participated in concerning the European common market and frictions between Britain and France under de Gaulle:

As an alternative to the Common Market for the Benelux, France, Germany and Italy, in June 1956 the United Kingdom introduced a proposal for the creation of a free trade area for the entire OEEC. The proposal was only seriously discussed after the signing of the Rome Treaties. It suggested a free trade area placed on top of the Common Market structure. Since March 1957 the plan was under serious consideration by the European governments represented in the OEEC. However, during 1958 problems arose because of the complexities that were involved in combining the Common Market and its special policies with the free trade area. Particularly the governments of France and the United Kingdom were at odds with each other. The French were unwilling to give in to concessions that they had secured in the Rome Treaties, such as the common agricultural policy, the harmonization of social policies, investments in their overseas areas and the European Atomic Energy Community. Moreover the United Kingdom had resisted every suggestion of supranationalism in international treaties over the past eight years and it was unlikely that it would accept French ideas now. By September 1958, when the next Bilderberg meeting took place, the negotiations were stalled.

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The 1958 Bilderberg meeting paid close attention to the stalled negotiations. An unusual number of leaders of European business had joined the meeting, even including Swedish, Norwegian and British firms and several members from ELEC. The possibility that no agreement would be reached between France and the rest of the OEEC, worried all members. The group as a whole was especially concerned about the possibility of a schism in trade between the EEC and the rest of Western Europe. If negotiations would fail, they all expected the creation of another trade bloc by Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, dubbed "the Seven". All agreed that a solution should be found to prevent the undesired long-term effect of trade displacement.

 

Events Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1957 February	15 February 1957	17 February 1957	US St Simons Island Georgia (State)	The earliest ever Bilderberg in the year, number 5, was also first one outside Europe.
Bilderberg/1958	13 September 1958	15 September 1958	United Kingdom Buxton UK	The 7th Bilderberg and the first one in the UK. 72 guests
Bilderberg/1960	28 May 1960	29 May 1960	Switzerland Bürgenstock	The 9th such meeting and the first one in Switzerland. 61 participants + 4 "in attendance". The meeting report contains a press statement, 4 sentences long.

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