The situation in Russia is so unsettled that a statement of present conditions in the steel industry is valueless. It is reasonable to assume, however, that the iron and steel situation will not materially change as to operations and control. Moreover, it will be safe to predict that Poland will develop more rapidly as an iron-ore producer in the future, as she was handicapped in the past by restrictions on exportation of ore. =Belgium.=--Belgium has been negligible as a producer of iron ore but has been a comparatively large importer of iron ore and manufacturer of pig iron. The country ranked sixth as a producer of pig iron in 1913, in which year it produced 147,048 tons of ore and imported 4,400,000 tons.[51] [51] Board of Trade, “Reports on Iron and Steel,” London. Belgian iron works were greatly damaged by the Germans during the war, and probably some time will elapse before the industry again reaches the position it occupied before the war. The country offers a good market, however, for the iron ores of France and should in future years be a larger producer of iron and steel wares. Belgium is practically dependent upon outside sources for ore supply, but is conveniently situated as a market for ores from many countries. The total iron-ore reserves of the country have been estimated at 62,500,000 tons, not enough to last 10 years at the present rate of consumption. =Austria-Hungary.=--The former Austro-Hungarian Empire yielded in recent years 2 to 3 per cent. of the annual iron-ore production of the world, and about 2 per cent. of the pig-iron production; therefore it has been of minor importance in the iron industry. The ore reserves have been estimated at 284 million tons of available ore, and 807 million tons additional of probable ore. The present unsettled conditions will probably result in considerable change in the operation and control of the iron mines and works. Eventually the upheaval may stimulate the iron industry, but the result should not materially alter the international position. =Japan.=--The iron and steel industry of Japan is of small magnitude as compared with that of the United States, Germany, Great Britain, and other leading iron and steel manufacturing countries. The total reserves of iron ore are probably not much more than 60 million tons, or less than has been mined annually in the Lake Superior district in recent years. The steel-making industry is expanding rapidly, however, and at present blast furnaces, steel-making furnaces, and steel mills are being erected in Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and China by Japanese interests.