World Copper Agreement
Encyclopedia
The World Copper Agreement (also called International Copper Cartel
) signed March 28, 1935, was an attempt to create a worldwide copper
cartel
. Uniting Africa
n, South America
n and Europe
an producers, the agreement aimed to "bring about better conditions in the production, distribution and marketing of copper throughout the world outside of the United States" through curtailment of production. To supervise the implementation of the agreement and amend breaches of it, the agreement provided for the creation of a Control Committee of 5 members.
In addition to the above, the Compagnie Francaise de Mines de Bor and the Rio Tinto Company, Ltd. each had a right to have one representative attend (without vote) all meetings of the Control Committee, and to receive minutes of such meetings and copies of all Committee decisions.
International Copper Cartel
The varied difficulties experienced by the copper industry after the depths of the Great Depression were followed by the idea of getting relief through some form of collective action in order to reduce the intensity of competition. In this way on March, 28th, 1935, the International Copper Cartel ...
) signed March 28, 1935, was an attempt to create a worldwide copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
. Uniting Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an producers, the agreement aimed to "bring about better conditions in the production, distribution and marketing of copper throughout the world outside of the United States" through curtailment of production. To supervise the implementation of the agreement and amend breaches of it, the agreement provided for the creation of a Control Committee of 5 members.
Signaturies to the agreement
- Union Minière du Haut KatangaUnion Minière du Haut KatangaThe Union Minière du Haut Katanga was a Belgian mining company, once operating in Katanga, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(KatangaKatanga ProvinceKatanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
, Belgian CongoBelgian CongoThe Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
) - Rhokana Corporation, Ltd. (ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
) - Roan Antelope Copper Mines, Ltd. (Zambia)
- Chile Exploration Co. (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
) - Andes Copper Mining Co. (Chile)
- Greene Cananea Copper Co. (MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) - Braden Copper CompanyBraden Copper CompanyBraden Copper Company was an American company that controlled the El Teniente copper mine in Chile until 1967 when its copper holdings were nationalized.-History:...
(Chile)
In addition to the above, the Compagnie Francaise de Mines de Bor and the Rio Tinto Company, Ltd. each had a right to have one representative attend (without vote) all meetings of the Control Committee, and to receive minutes of such meetings and copies of all Committee decisions.