SPECIAL REPORTS FOR FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, 11
The general meetings.—The Steel Verband is governed by general
meetings of all the members. Each member has one vote for each
10,000 tons of his quota. The vote, according to the quota, depends
upon the subject or line of products under consideration, i. e., 1f the
vote concerns “A” products the vote is taking according to the quota
of each firm in “A” products.
Members may use their own “A” products to manufacture their
own “B” products without having to buy the same from the Verband.
 This gives the plants of mixed nature, who manufacture
“B?” products, a decided advantage over competitors in manufactured
 goods who do not produce their own raw material or are outside
 of the Verband and must buy from the Verband. The result
has been that the quotas in “ B” products have been raised more
rapidly than the “A” products. Only the “A” products are sold by
the Verband, the “ B* products being sold by the plants directly to
the trade. The result has been an overproduction of “ B” products
and a fall in prices in finished steel manufactures.
Foreign markets.—The home market for the Steel Verband is the
German Empire and Luxemburg. All else is considered the foreign
market. Prior to the founding of the Steel Verband, in 1904, individual
 firms had their own agents, commissioners, or branch officers
abroad. This led to price cutting among the German firms against
one another, as well as against non-German firms. With the formation
 of the Steel Verband, in 1904, steps were taken at once to consolidate
 the German steel-plant selling interests in all their foreign
markets, which resulted In an entire reorganization. The most
important foreign markets are Scandinavia, Belgium, and South
America; also Turkey, Asia Minor; and to some extent Russia. The
Steel Verband maintains (1912) the following offices abroad: London,
 a limited company; Amsterdam, Naamlooze Venootschap Vertegen
 Woordinging van het Stahlwerksverband; Brussels, Société
»ivile Morcolty Kuehn &amp; Co., Agence du Stahlwerksverband.
The position of these companies is a mean between commissioner
and direct officials of the Verband.
The result has been curtailing of price cutting in export trade,
especially in half-finished products, and a normal difference between
home price and export price.
Products.—The products of the united steel industries controlled
by the Steel Verband, as mentioned, fall into classes “A” and “B,”
group “A” being absolutely under the control of the Verband, group
“B* being handled by the individual firms. The Verband regulates
the quantity of production, but not the sale of class “B.” The Verband
 has standardized the products of the “ B” class as to size and
quality and the “A” products as to quality, and is very active in maintaining
 both standards. It has even introduced a technical bureau to
test the products of its members and, if possible, help to increase the
uniformity and improve the quality. The result has been increased
recognition in the world market for the high quality of the products
and uniformity of specification. Only certain products of a higher
stage of manufacture are trade-marked.
Extent of monopoly of home market.—The Steel Verband at its
foundation controlled 88 per cent of the entire steel production of
class “ B ? for the German Empire and Luxemburg. January, 1905,
it controlled 90.6 per cent, and in 1912, 95 per cent of the entire steel